U.S. patent application number 13/212360 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-12 for systems and methods for securing virtual machine computing environments.
Invention is credited to John R. Mumaugh, Mark S. O'Hare, Rick L. Orsini, Matt Staker.
Application Number | 20120179916 13/212360 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44584659 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120179916 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Staker; Matt ; et
al. |
July 12, 2012 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SECURING VIRTUAL MACHINE COMPUTING
ENVIRONMENTS
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for securing data in virtual
machine computing environments. A request is received for a
security operation from a first virtual machine operating in a host
operating system of a first device. In response to receiving the
request, a first security module executes the security operation,
the first security module implemented in a kernel of the host
operating system. The result of the security operation is provided
to the first virtual machine.
Inventors: |
Staker; Matt; (US) ;
O'Hare; Mark S.; (Coto De Caza, CA) ; Mumaugh; John
R.; (US) ; Orsini; Rick L.; (Flower Mound,
TX) |
Family ID: |
44584659 |
Appl. No.: |
13/212360 |
Filed: |
August 18, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61374950 |
Aug 18, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
713/189 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 9/45558 20130101;
G06F 21/6281 20130101; G06F 21/60 20130101; H04L 63/0823 20130101;
G06F 21/53 20130101; G06F 2009/45587 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
713/189 |
International
Class: |
H04L 9/00 20060101
H04L009/00 |
Claims
1. A method for securing data, comprising: receiving a request for
a security operation from a first virtual machine operating in a
host operating system of a first device; in response to receiving
the request, executing the security operation at a first security
module implemented in a kernel of the host operating system; and
providing a result of the security operation to the first virtual
machine.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request from the first
virtual machine is a request from an application running in the
first virtual machine.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the request from the application
running in the first virtual machine is a request for a security
operation to be executed by the first security module.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the security operation
at the first security module comprises generating a plurality of
shares, wherein each of the plurality of shares contains a
distribution of data from a data set.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein executing the security operation
at the first security module further comprises encrypting the data
set.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the security
operation from the first virtual machine is a request for a
security operation to be executed by a second security module
implemented in a kernel of an operating system of the first virtual
machine.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein executing the security operation
at the first security module comprises determining that the second
security module is unable to execute the requested security
operation.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein executing the security operation
at the first security module comprises receiving a request, at the
first security module from the second security module, to execute
the requested operation.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein executing the security operation
at the first security module comprises determining that the first
security module is able to execute the requested security
operation.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the request from the first
virtual machine is a request to secure a communication between the
first virtual and a second virtual machine.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second virtual machine is
operating in the host operating system of the first device.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein executing this security
operation of the first security module comprises calling a hardware
accelerator from the kernel of the host operating system.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first security module
includes a secure parser.
14. A system for securing virtual machines, comprising: a processor
configured to: execute a host operating system having a kernel;
receive a request for a security operation from a first virtual
machine operating in the host operating system; in response to
receiving the request execute the security operation at the first
security module implemented in the kernel of the host operating
system; and provide a result of the security operation to the first
virtual machine.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the request from the first
virtual machine is a request from an application running in the
first virtual machine.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the request from the
application running in the first virtual machine is a request for a
security operation to be executed by the first security module.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein executing the security
operation at the first security module comprises generating a
plurality of shares, wherein each of the plurality of shares
contains a distribution of data from a data set.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein executing the security
operation at the first security module further comprises encrypting
the data set.
19. The system of claim 14, wherein the request for the security
operation from the first virtual machine is a request for a
security operation to be executed by a second security module
implemented in a kernel of an operating system of the first virtual
machine.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein executing the security
operation of the first security module comprises determining that
the second security module is unable to execute the requested
security operation.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein executing the security
operation at the first security module comprises receiving a
request, at the first security module from the second security
module, to execute the requested operation.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein in executing the security
operation at the first security module comprises determining that
the first security module is able to execute the requested security
operation.
23. The system of claim 14, wherein the request from the first
virtual machine if a request to secure a communication between the
first virtual machine and the second virtual machine.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the second virtual machine is
operating in the host operating system.
25. The system of claim 14, wherein executing the security
operation at the first security module comprises calling a hardware
accelerator from the kernel of the host operating system.
26. The system of claim 14, wherein the security module includes a
secure parser.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 61/374,950, filed Aug. 18, 2010, the
content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates in general to systems and
methods for securing virtual machine computing environments. The
systems and methods described herein may be used in conjunction
with other systems and methods described in commonly-owned U.S.
Pat. No. 7,391,865 and commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser.
Nos. 11/258,839, filed Oct. 25, 2005, 11/602,667, filed Nov. 20,
2006, 11/983,355, filed Nov. 7, 2007, 11/999,575, filed Dec. 5,
2007, 12/148,365, filed Apr. 18, 2008, 12/209,703, filed Sep. 12,
2008, 12/349,897, filed Jan. 7, 2009, 12/391,025, filed Feb. 23,
2009, 12/783,276, filed May 19, 2010, 12/953,877, filed Nov. 24,
2010, 13/077,770, filed Mar. 31, 2011, 13/077,802, filed Mar. 31,
2011, and 13/117,791, filed May 27, 2011 and U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Nos. 61/436,991, filed Jan. 27, 2011,
61/264,464, filed Nov. 25, 2009, 61/319,658, filed Mar. 31, 2010,
61/320,242, filed Apr. 1, 2010, 61/349,560, filed May 28, 2010,
61/373,187, filed Aug. 12, 2010, 61/374,950, filed Aug. 18, 2010,
61/384,583, filed Sep. 20, 2010. The disclosures of each of the
aforementioned, earlier-filed applications are hereby incorporated
by reference herein in their entireties.
SUMMARY
[0003] Embodiments are directed generally towards systems and
methods for securing data. One embodiment relates generally to a
method for securing data in which a request for a security
operation is received from a first virtual machine operating in a
host operating system of a first device. In response to receiving
the request, the security operation is executed at a first security
module implemented in a kernel of the host operating system and the
result of the security operation is provided to the first virtual
machine.
[0004] In some implementations, the request from the first virtual
machine is a request from an application running in the first
virtual machine. In some implementations, the request from the
application running in the first virtual machine is a request for a
security operation to be executed by the first security module. In
some implementations, executing the security operation at the first
security module includes generating a plurality of shares, wherein
each of the plurality of shares contains a distribution of data
from a data set. Executing the security operation at the first
security module may further include encrypting the data set. In
some implementations, the request for the security operation from
the first virtual machine is a request for a security operation to
be executed by a second security module implemented in a kernel of
an operating system of the first virtual machine. Executing the
security operation at the first security module may include
determining that the second security module is unable to execute
the requested security operation. Executing the security operation
at the first security module may further include receiving a
request, at the first security module from the second security
module, to execute the requested operation. Executing the security
operation at the first security module may include determining that
the first security module is able to execute the requested security
operation. In some implementations, the request from the first
virtual machine is a request to secure a communication between the
first virtual and a second virtual machine. The second virtual
machine may be operating in the host operating system of the first
device. In some implementations, executing this security operation
of the first security module includes calling a hardware
accelerator from the kernel of the host operating system. In some
implementations, the first security module includes a secure
parser.
[0005] Systems for securing virtual machines are also provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The present invention is described in more detail below in
connection with the attached drawings, which are meant to
illustrate and not to limit the invention, and in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a cryptographic
system, according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the trust engine of
FIG. 1, according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the transaction engine
of FIG. 2, according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0010] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the depository of FIG.
2, according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of the authentication
engine of FIG. 2, according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the cryptographic
engine of FIG. 2, according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a depository system,
according to aspects of another embodiment of the invention;
[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of a data splitting process
according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0015] FIG. 9, Panel A illustrates a data flow of an enrollment
process according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 9, Panel B illustrates a flow chart of an
interoperability process according to aspects of an embodiment of
the invention;
[0017] FIG. 10 illustrates a data flow of an authentication process
according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 11 illustrates a data flow of a signing process
according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 12 illustrates a data flow and an encryption/decryption
process according to aspects and yet another embodiment of the
invention;
[0020] FIG. 13 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a trust
engine system according to aspects of another embodiment of the
invention;
[0021] FIG. 14 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a trust
engine system according to aspects of another embodiment of the
invention;
[0022] FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of the redundancy module
of FIG. 14, according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0023] FIG. 16 illustrates a process for evaluating authentications
according to one aspect of the invention;
[0024] FIG. 17 illustrates a process for assigning a value to an
authentication according to one aspect as shown in FIG. 16 of the
invention;
[0025] FIG. 18 illustrates a process for performing trust arbitrage
in an aspect of the invention as shown in FIG. 17;
[0026] FIG. 19 illustrates a sample transaction between a user and
a vendor according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention
where an initial web based contact leads to a sales contract signed
by both parties;
[0027] FIG. 20 illustrates a sample user system with a
cryptographic service provider module which provides security
functions to a user system;
[0028] FIG. 21 illustrates a process for parsing, splitting and/or
separating data with encryption and storage of the encryption
master key with the data;
[0029] FIG. 22 illustrates a process for parsing, splitting and/or
separating data with encryption and storing the encryption master
key separately from the data;
[0030] FIG. 23 illustrates the intermediary key process for
parsing, splitting and/or separating data with encryption and
storage of the encryption master key with the data;
[0031] FIG. 24 illustrates the intermediary key process for
parsing, splitting and/or separating data with encryption and
storing the encryption master key separately from the data;
[0032] FIG. 25 illustrates utilization of the cryptographic methods
and systems of the present invention with a small working
group;
[0033] FIG. 26 is a block diagram of an illustrative physical token
security system employing the secure data parser in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 27 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is integrated into a system in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0035] FIG. 28 is a block diagram of an illustrative data in motion
system in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0036] FIG. 29 is a block diagram of another illustrative data in
motion system in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0037] FIG. 30-32 are block diagrams of an illustrative system
having the secure data parser integrated in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0038] FIG. 33 is a process flow diagram of an illustrative process
for parsing and splitting data in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0039] FIG. 34 is a process flow diagram of an illustrative process
for restoring portions of data into original data in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0040] FIG. 35 is a process flow diagram of an illustrative process
for splitting data at the bit level in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0041] FIG. 36 is a process flow diagram of illustrative steps and
features, that may be used in any suitable combination, with any
suitable additions, deletions, or modifications in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0042] FIG. 37 is a process flow diagram of illustrative steps and
features, that may be used in any suitable combination, with any
suitable additions, deletions, or modifications in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0043] FIG. 38 is a simplified block diagram of the storage of key
and data components within shares, that may be used in any suitable
combination, with any suitable additions, deletions, or
modifications in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0044] FIG. 39 is a simplified block diagram of the storage of key
and data components within shares using a workgroup key, that may
be used in any suitable combination, with any suitable additions,
deletions, or modifications in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0045] FIGS. 40A and 40B are simplified and illustrative process
flow diagrams for header generation and data splitting for data in
motion, that may be used in any suitable combination, with any
suitable additions, deletions, or modifications in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0046] FIG. 41 is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative
share format, that may be used in any suitable combination, with
any suitable additions, deletions, or modifications in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0047] FIG. 42 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is integrated into a system connected
to cloud computing resources in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0048] FIG. 43 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is integrated into a system for
sending data through the cloud in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0049] FIG. 44 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure data services in the
cloud in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0050] FIG. 45 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure data storage in the
cloud in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0051] FIG. 46 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure network access
control in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0052] FIG. 47 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure high performance
computing resources in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0053] FIG. 48 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure access using virtual
machines in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0054] FIGS. 49 and 50 show block diagrams of alternative
illustrative arrangements for securing access using virtual
machines in accordance with embodiments of the present
invention;
[0055] FIG. 51 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure orthogonal
frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) networks in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
[0056] FIG. 52 is a block diagram of an illustrative arrangement in
which the secure data parser is used to secure the power grid in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0057] FIG. 53 is a block diagram of a virtual machine computing
environment;
[0058] FIG. 54 is a flow diagram of a process for securing a
virtual machine; and
[0059] FIG. 55 is a block diagram of a secure virtual machine
computing environment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0060] One aspect of the present invention is to provide a
cryptographic system where one or more secure servers, or a trust
engine, stores cryptographic keys and user authentication data.
Users access the functionality of conventional cryptographic
systems through network access to the trust engine, however, the
trust engine does not release actual keys and other authentication
data and therefore, the keys and data remain secure. This
server-centric storage of keys and authentication data provides for
user-independent security, portability, availability, and
straightforwardness.
[0061] Because users can be confident in, or trust, the
cryptographic system to perform user and document authentication
and other cryptographic functions, a wide variety of functionality
may be incorporated into the system. For example, the trust engine
provider can ensure against agreement repudiation by, for example,
authenticating the agreement participants, digitally signing the
agreement on behalf of or for the participants, and storing a
record of the agreement digitally signed by each participant. In
addition, the cryptographic system may monitor agreements and
determine to apply varying degrees of authentication, based on, for
example, price, user, vendor, geographic location, place of use, or
the like.
[0062] To facilitate a complete understanding of the invention, the
remainder of the detailed description describes the invention with
reference to the figures, wherein like elements are referenced with
like numerals throughout.
[0063] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a cryptographic system
100, according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention. As
shown in FIG. 1, the cryptographic system 100 includes a user
system 105, a trust engine 110, a certificate authority 115, and a
vendor system 120, communicating through a communication link
125.
[0064] According to one embodiment of the invention, the user
system 105 comprises a conventional general-purpose computer having
one or more microprocessors, such as, for example, an Intel-based
processor. Moreover, the user system 105 includes an appropriate
operating system, such as, for example, an operating system capable
of including graphics or windows, such as Windows, Unix, Linux, or
the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the user system 105 may include a
biometric device 107. The biometric device 107 may advantageously
capture a user's biometric and transfer the captured biometric to
the trust engine 110. According to one embodiment of the invention,
the biometric device may advantageously comprise a device having
attributes and features similar to those disclosed in U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/926,277, filed on Sep. 5, 1997, entitled
"RELIEF OBJECT IMAGE GENERATOR," U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/558,634, filed on Apr. 26, 2000, entitled "IMAGING DEVICE FOR A
RELIEF OBJECT AND SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USING THE IMAGE DEVICE,"
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/435,011, filed on Nov. 5, 1999,
entitled "RELIEF OBJECT SENSOR ADAPTOR," and U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/477,943, filed on Jan. 5, 2000, entitled
"PLANAR OPTICAL IMAGE SENSOR AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING AN
ELECTRONIC IMAGE OF A RELIEF OBJECT FOR FINGERPRINT READING," all
of which are owned by the instant assignee, and all of which are
hereby incorporated by reference herein.
[0065] In addition, the user system 105 may connect to the
communication link 125 through a conventional service provider,
such as, for example, a dial up, digital subscriber line (DSL),
cable modem, fiber connection, or the like. According to another
embodiment, the user system 105 connects the communication link 125
through network connectivity such as, for example, a local or wide
area network. According to one embodiment, the operating system
includes a TCP/IP stack that handles all incoming and outgoing
message traffic passed over the communication link 125.
[0066] Although the user system 105 is disclosed with reference to
the foregoing embodiments, the invention is not intended to be
limited thereby. Rather, a skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein, a wide number of alternatives embodiments of the
user system 105, including almost any computing device capable of
sending or receiving information from another computer system. For
example, the user system 105 may include, but is not limited to, a
computer workstation, an interactive television, an interactive
kiosk, a personal mobile computing device, such as a digital
assistant, mobile phone, laptop, or the like, a wireless
communications device, a smartcard, an embedded computing device,
or the like, which can interact with the communication link 125. In
such alternative systems, the operating systems will likely differ
and be adapted for the particular device. However, according to one
embodiment, the operating systems advantageously continue to
provide the appropriate communications protocols needed to
establish communication with the communication link 125.
[0067] FIG. 1 illustrates the trust engine 110. According to one
embodiment, the trust engine 110 comprises one or more secure
servers for accessing and storing sensitive information, which may
be any type or form of data, such as, but not limited to text,
audio, video, user authentication data and public and private
cryptographic keys. According to one embodiment, the authentication
data includes data designed to uniquely identify a user of the
cryptographic system 100. For example, the authentication data may
include a user identification number, one or more biometrics, and a
series of questions and answers generated by the trust engine 110
or the user, but answered initially by the user at enrollment. The
foregoing questions may include demographic data, such as place of
birth, address, anniversary, or the like, personal data, such as
mother's maiden name, favorite ice cream, or the like, or other
data designed to uniquely identify the user. The trust engine 110
compares a user's authentication data associated with a current
transaction, to the authentication data provided at an earlier
time, such as, for example, during enrollment. The trust engine 110
may advantageously require the user to produce the authentication
data at the time of each transaction, or, the trust engine 110 may
advantageously allow the user to periodically produce
authentication data, such as at the beginning of a string of
transactions or the logging onto a particular vendor website.
[0068] According to the embodiment where the user produces
biometric data, the user provides a physical characteristic, such
as, but not limited to, facial scan, hand scan, ear scan, iris
scan, retinal scan, vascular pattern, DNA, a fingerprint, writing
or speech, to the biometric device 107. The biometric device
advantageously produces an electronic pattern, or biometric, of the
physical characteristic. The electronic pattern is transferred
through the user system 105 to the trust engine 110 for either
enrollment or authentication purposes.
[0069] Once the user produces the appropriate authentication data
and the trust engine 110 determines a positive match between that
authentication data (current authentication data) and the
authentication data provided at the time of enrollment (enrollment
authentication data), the trust engine 110 provides the user with
complete cryptographic functionality. For example, the properly
authenticated user may advantageously employ the trust engine 110
to perform hashing, digitally signing, encrypting and decrypting
(often together referred to only as encrypting), creating or
distributing digital certificates, and the like. However, the
private cryptographic keys used in the cryptographic functions will
not be available outside the trust engine 110, thereby ensuring the
integrity of the cryptographic keys.
[0070] According to one embodiment, the trust engine 110 generates
and stores cryptographic keys. According to another embodiment, at
least one cryptographic key is associated with each user. Moreover,
when the cryptographic keys include public-key technology, each
private key associated with a user is generated within, and not
released from, the trust engine 110. Thus, so long as the user has
access to the trust engine 110, the user may perform cryptographic
functions using his or her private or public key. Such remote
access advantageously allows users to remain completely mobile and
access cryptographic functionality through practically any Internet
connection, such as cellular and satellite phones, kiosks, laptops,
hotel rooms and the like.
[0071] According to another embodiment, the trust engine 110
performs the cryptographic functionality using a key pair generated
for the trust engine 110. According to this embodiment, the trust
engine 110 first authenticates the user, and after the user has
properly produced authentication data matching the enrollment
authentication data, the trust engine 110 uses its own
cryptographic key pair to perform cryptographic functions on behalf
of the authenticated user.
[0072] A skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein
that the cryptographic keys may advantageously include some or all
of symmetric keys, public keys, and private keys. In addition, a
skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein that the
foregoing keys may be implemented with a wide number of algorithms
available from commercial technologies, such as, for example, RSA,
ELGAMAL, or the like.
[0073] FIG. 1 also illustrates the certificate authority 115.
According to one embodiment, the certificate authority 115 may
advantageously comprise a trusted third-party organization or
company that issues digital certificates, such as, for example,
VeriSign, Baltimore, Entrust, or the like. The trust engine 110 may
advantageously transmit requests for digital certificates, through
one or more conventional digital certificate protocols, such as,
for example, PKCS10, to the certificate authority 115. In response,
the certificate authority 115 will issue a digital certificate in
one or more of a number of differing protocols, such as, for
example, PKCS7. According to one embodiment of the invention, the
trust engine 110 requests digital certificates from several or all
of the prominent certificate authorities 115 such that the trust
engine 110 has access to a digital certificate corresponding to the
certificate standard of any requesting party.
[0074] According to another embodiment, the trust engine 110
internally performs certificate issuances. In this embodiment, the
trust engine 110 may access a certificate system for generating
certificates and/or may internally generate certificates when they
are requested, such as, for example, at the time of key generation
or in the certificate standard requested at the time of the
request. The trust engine 110 will be disclosed in greater detail
below.
[0075] FIG. 1 also illustrates the vendor system 120. According to
one embodiment, the vendor system 120 advantageously comprises a
Web server. Typical Web servers generally serve content over the
Internet using one of several internet markup languages or document
format standards, such as the Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) or
the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The Web server accepts
requests from browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer and then
returns the appropriate electronic documents. A number of server or
client-side technologies can be used to increase the power of the
Web server beyond its ability to deliver standard electronic
documents. For example, these technologies include Common Gateway
Interface (CGI) scripts, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security, and
Active Server Pages (ASPs). The vendor system 120 may
advantageously provide electronic content relating to commercial,
personal, educational, or other transactions.
[0076] Although the vendor system 120 is disclosed with reference
to the foregoing embodiments, the invention is not intended to be
limited thereby. Rather, a skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein that the vendor system 120 may advantageously
comprise any of the devices described with reference to the user
system 105 or combination thereof.
[0077] FIG. 1 also illustrates the communication link 125
connecting the user system 105, the trust engine 110, the
certificate authority 115, and the vendor system 120. According to
one embodiment, the communication link 125 preferably comprises the
Internet. The Internet, as used throughout this disclosure is a
global network of computers. The structure of the Internet, which
is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, includes a
network backbone with networks branching from the backbone. These
branches, in turn, have networks branching from them, and so on.
Routers move information packets between network levels, and then
from network to network, until the packet reaches the neighborhood
of its destination. From the destination, the destination network's
host directs the information packet to the appropriate terminal, or
node. In one advantageous embodiment, the Internet routing hubs
comprise domain name system (DNS) servers using Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) as is well known in the
art. The routing hubs connect to one or more other routing hubs via
high-speed communication links.
[0078] One popular part of the Internet is the World Wide Web. The
World Wide Web contains different computers, which store documents
capable of displaying graphical and textual information. The
computers that provide information on the World Wide Web are
typically called "websites." A website is defined by an Internet
address that has an associated electronic page. The electronic page
can be identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Generally,
an electronic page is a document that organizes the presentation of
text, graphical images, audio, video, and so forth.
[0079] Although the communication link 125 is disclosed in terms of
its preferred embodiment, one of ordinary skill in the art will
recognize from the disclosure herein that the communication link
125 may include a wide range of interactive communications links
For example, the communication link 125 may include interactive
television networks, telephone networks, wireless data transmission
systems, two-way cable systems, customized private or public
computer networks, interactive kiosk networks, automatic teller
machine networks, direct links, satellite or cellular networks, and
the like.
[0080] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the trust engine 110
of FIG. 1 according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the trust engine 110 includes a transaction
engine 205, a depository 210, an authentication engine 215, and a
cryptographic engine 220. According to one embodiment of the
invention, the trust engine 110 also includes mass storage 225. As
further shown in FIG. 2, the transaction engine 205 communicates
with the depository 210, the authentication engine 215, and the
cryptographic engine 220, along with the mass storage 225. In
addition, the depository 210 communicates with the authentication
engine 215, the cryptographic engine 220, and the mass storage 225.
Moreover, the authentication engine 215 communicates with the
cryptographic engine 220. According to one embodiment of the
invention, some or all of the foregoing communications may
advantageously comprise the transmission of XML documents to IP
addresses that correspond to the receiving device. As mentioned in
the foregoing, XML documents advantageously allow designers to
create their own customized document tags, enabling the definition,
transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between
applications and between organizations. Moreover, some or all of
the foregoing communications may include conventional SSL
technologies.
[0081] According to one embodiment, the transaction engine 205
comprises a data routing device, such as a conventional Web server
available from Netscape, Microsoft, Apache, or the like. For
example, the Web server may advantageously receive incoming data
from the communication link 125. According to one embodiment of the
invention, the incoming data is addressed to a front-end security
system for the trust engine 110. For example, the front-end
security system may advantageously include a firewall, an intrusion
detection system searching for known attack profiles, and/or a
virus scanner. After clearing the front-end security system, the
data is received by the transaction engine 205 and routed to one of
the depository 210, the authentication engine 215, the
cryptographic engine 220, and the mass storage 225. In addition,
the transaction engine 205 monitors incoming data from the
authentication engine 215 and cryptographic engine 220, and routes
the data to particular systems through the communication link 125.
For example, the transaction engine 205 may advantageously route
data to the user system 105, the certificate authority 115, or the
vendor system 120.
[0082] According to one embodiment, the data is routed using
conventional HTTP routing techniques, such as, for example,
employing URLs or Uniform Resource Indicators (URIs). URIs are
similar to URLs, however, URIs typically indicate the source of
files or actions, such as, for example, executables, scripts, and
the like. Therefore, according to the one embodiment, the user
system 105, the certificate authority 115, the vendor system 120,
and the components of the trust engine 210, advantageously include
sufficient data within communication URLs or URIs for the
transaction engine 205 to properly route data throughout the
cryptographic system.
[0083] Although the data routing is disclosed with reference to its
preferred embodiment, a skilled artisan will recognize a wide
number of possible data routing solutions or strategies. For
example, XML or other data packets may advantageously be unpacked
and recognized by their format, content, or the like, such that the
transaction engine 205 may properly route data throughout the trust
engine 110. Moreover, a skilled artisan will recognize that the
data routing may advantageously be adapted to the data transfer
protocols conforming to particular network systems, such as, for
example, when the communication link 125 comprises a local
network.
[0084] According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the
transaction engine 205 includes conventional SSL encryption
technologies, such that the foregoing systems may authenticate
themselves, and vise-versa, with transaction engine 205, during
particular communications. As will be used throughout this
disclosure, the term "1/2 SSL" refers to communications where a
server but not necessarily the client, is SSL authenticated, and
the term "FULL SSL" refers to communications where the client and
the server are SSL authenticated. When the instant disclosure uses
the term "SSL", the communication may comprise 1/2 or FULL SSL.
[0085] As the transaction engine 205 routes data to the various
components of the cryptographic system 100, the transaction engine
205 may advantageously create an audit trail. According to one
embodiment, the audit trail includes a record of at least the type
and format of data routed by the transaction engine 205 throughout
the cryptographic system 100. Such audit data may advantageously be
stored in the mass storage 225.
[0086] FIG. 2 also illustrates the depository 210. According to one
embodiment, the depository 210 comprises one or more data storage
facilities, such as, for example, a directory server, a database
server, or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the depository 210 stores
cryptographic keys and enrollment authentication data. The
cryptographic keys may advantageously correspond to the trust
engine 110 or to users of the cryptographic system 100, such as the
user or vendor. The enrollment authentication data may
advantageously include data designed to uniquely identify a user,
such as, user ID, passwords, answers to questions, biometric data,
or the like. This enrollment authentication data may advantageously
be acquired at enrollment of a user or another alternative later
time. For example, the trust engine 110 may include periodic or
other renewal or reissue of enrollment authentication data.
[0087] According to one embodiment, the communication from the
transaction engine 205 to and from the authentication engine 215
and the cryptographic engine 220 comprises secure communication,
such as, for example conventional SSL technology. In addition, as
mentioned in the foregoing, the data of the communications to and
from the depository 210 may be transferred using URLs, URIs, HTTP
or XML documents, with any of the foregoing advantageously having
data requests and formats embedded therein.
[0088] As mentioned above, the depository 210 may advantageously
comprises a plurality of secure data storage facilities. In such an
embodiment, the secure data storage facilities may be configured
such that a compromise of the security in one individual data
storage facility will not compromise the cryptographic keys or the
authentication data stored therein. For example, according to this
embodiment, the cryptographic keys and the authentication data are
mathematically operated on so as to statistically and substantially
randomize the data stored in each data storage facility. According
to one embodiment, the randomization of the data of an individual
data storage facility renders that data undecipherable. Thus,
compromise of an individual data storage facility produces only a
randomized undecipherable number and does not compromise the
security of any cryptographic keys or the authentication data as a
whole.
[0089] FIG. 2 also illustrates the trust engine 110 including the
authentication engine 215. According to one embodiment, the
authentication engine 215 comprises a data comparator configured to
compare data from the transaction engine 205 with data from the
depository 210. For example, during authentication, a user supplies
current authentication data to the trust engine 110 such that the
transaction engine 205 receives the current authentication data. As
mentioned in the foregoing, the transaction engine 205 recognizes
the data requests, preferably in the URL or URI, and routes the
authentication data to the authentication engine 215. Moreover,
upon request, the depository 210 forwards enrollment authentication
data corresponding to the user to the authentication engine 215.
Thus, the authentication engine 215 has both the current
authentication data and the enrollment authentication data for
comparison.
[0090] According to one embodiment, the communications to the
authentication engine comprise secure communications, such as, for
example, SSL technology. Additionally, security can be provided
within the trust engine 110 components, such as, for example,
super-encryption using public key technologies. For example,
according to one embodiment, the user encrypts the current
authentication data with the public key of the authentication
engine 215. In addition, the depository 210 also encrypts the
enrollment authentication data with the public key of the
authentication engine 215. In this way, only the authentication
engine's private key can be used to decrypt the transmissions.
[0091] As shown in FIG. 2, the trust engine 110 also includes the
cryptographic engine 220. According to one embodiment, the
cryptographic engine comprises a cryptographic handling module,
configured to advantageously provide conventional cryptographic
functions, such as, for example, public-key infrastructure (PKI)
functionality. For example, the cryptographic engine 220 may
advantageously issue public and private keys for users of the
cryptographic system 100. In this manner, the cryptographic keys
are generated at the cryptographic engine 220 and forwarded to the
depository 210 such that at least the private cryptographic keys
are not available outside of the trust engine 110. According to
another embodiment, the cryptographic engine 220 randomizes and
splits at least the private cryptographic key data, thereby storing
only the randomized split data. Similar to the splitting of the
enrollment authentication data, the splitting process ensures the
stored keys are not available outside the cryptographic engine 220.
According to another embodiment, the functions of the cryptographic
engine can be combined with and performed by the authentication
engine 215.
[0092] According to one embodiment, communications to and from the
cryptographic engine include secure communications, such as SSL
technology. In addition, XML documents may advantageously be
employed to transfer data and/or make cryptographic function
requests.
[0093] FIG. 2 also illustrates the trust engine 110 having the mass
storage 225. As mentioned in the foregoing, the transaction engine
205 keeps data corresponding to an audit trail and stores such data
in the mass storage 225. Similarly, according to one embodiment of
the invention, the depository 210 keeps data corresponding to an
audit trail and stores such data in the mass storage device 225.
The depository audit trail data is similar to that of the
transaction engine 205 in that the audit trail data comprises a
record of the requests received by the depository 210 and the
response thereof. In addition, the mass storage 225 may be used to
store digital certificates having the public key of a user
contained therein.
[0094] Although the trust engine 110 is disclosed with reference to
its preferred and alternative embodiments, the invention is not
intended to be limited thereby. Rather, a skilled artisan will
recognize in the disclosure herein, a wide number of alternatives
for the trust engine 110. For example, the trust engine 110, may
advantageously perform only authentication, or alternatively, only
some or all of the cryptographic functions, such as data encryption
and decryption. According to such embodiments, one of the
authentication engine 215 and the cryptographic engine 220 may
advantageously be removed, thereby creating a more straightforward
design for the trust engine 110. In addition, the cryptographic
engine 220 may also communicate with a certificate authority such
that the certificate authority is embodied within the trust engine
110. According to yet another embodiment, the trust engine 110 may
advantageously perform authentication and one or more cryptographic
functions, such as, for example, digital signing.
[0095] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the transaction engine
205 of FIG. 2, according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention. According to this embodiment, the transaction engine 205
comprises an operating system 305 having a handling thread and a
listening thread. The operating system 305 may advantageously be
similar to those found in conventional high volume servers, such
as, for example, Web servers available from Apache. The listening
thread monitors the incoming communication from one of the
communication link 125, the authentication engine 215, and the
cryptographic engine 220 for incoming data flow. The handling
thread recognizes particular data structures of the incoming data
flow, such as, for example, the foregoing data structures, thereby
routing the incoming data to one of the communication link 125, the
depository 210, the authentication engine 215, the cryptographic
engine 220, or the mass storage 225. As shown in FIG. 3, the
incoming and outgoing data may advantageously be secured through,
for example, SSL technology.
[0096] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the depository 210 of
FIG. 2 according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention.
According to this embodiment, the depository 210 comprises one or
more lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) servers. LDAP
directory servers are available from a wide variety of
manufacturers such as Netscape, ISO, and others. FIG. 4 also shows
that the directory server preferably stores data 405 corresponding
to the cryptographic keys and data 410 corresponding to the
enrollment authentication data. According to one embodiment, the
depository 210 comprises a single logical memory structure indexing
authentication data and cryptographic key data to a unique user ID.
The single logical memory structure preferably includes mechanisms
to ensure a high degree of trust, or security, in the data stored
therein. For example, the physical location of the depository 210
may advantageously include a wide number of conventional security
measures, such as limited employee access, modern surveillance
systems, and the like. In addition to, or in lieu of, the physical
securities, the computer system or server may advantageously
include software solutions to protect the stored data. For example,
the depository 210 may advantageously create and store data 415
corresponding to an audit trail of actions taken. In addition, the
incoming and outgoing communications may advantageously be
encrypted with public key encryption coupled with conventional SSL
technologies.
[0097] According to another embodiment, the depository 210 may
comprise distinct and physically separated data storage facilities,
as disclosed further with reference to FIG. 7.
[0098] FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of the authentication
engine 215 of FIG. 2 according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention. Similar to the transaction engine 205 of FIG. 3, the
authentication engine 215 comprises an operating system 505 having
at least a listening and a handling thread of a modified version of
a conventional Web server, such as, for example, Web servers
available from Apache. As shown in FIG. 5, the authentication
engine 215 includes access to at least one private key 510. The
private key 510 may advantageously be used for example, to decrypt
data from the transaction engine 205 or the depository 210, which
was encrypted with a corresponding public key of the authentication
engine 215.
[0099] FIG. 5 also illustrates the authentication engine 215
comprising a comparator 515, a data splitting module 520, and a
data assembling module 525. According to the preferred embodiment
of the invention, the comparator 515 includes technology capable of
comparing potentially complex patterns related to the foregoing
biometric authentication data. The technology may include hardware,
software, or combined solutions for pattern comparisons, such as,
for example, those representing finger print patterns or voice
patterns. In addition, according to one embodiment, the comparator
515 of the authentication engine 215 may advantageously compare
conventional hashes of documents in order to render a comparison
result. According to one embodiment of the invention, the
comparator 515 includes the application of heuristics 530 to the
comparison. The heuristics 530 may advantageously address
circumstances surrounding an authentication attempt, such as, for
example, the time of day, IP address or subnet mask, purchasing
profile, email address, processor serial number or ID, or the
like.
[0100] Moreover, the nature of biometric data comparisons may
result in varying degrees of confidence being produced from the
matching of current biometric authentication data to enrollment
data. For example, unlike a traditional password which may only
return a positive or negative match, a fingerprint may be
determined to be a partial match, e.g. a 90% match, a 75% match, or
a 10% match, rather than simply being correct or incorrect. Other
biometric identifiers such as voice print analysis or face
recognition may share this property of probabilistic
authentication, rather than absolute authentication.
[0101] When working with such probabilistic authentication or in
other cases where an authentication is considered less than
absolutely reliable, it is desirable to apply the heuristics 530 to
determine whether the level of confidence in the authentication
provided is sufficiently high to authenticate the transaction which
is being made.
[0102] It will sometimes be the case that the transaction at issue
is a relatively low value transaction where it is acceptable to be
authenticated to a lower level of confidence. This could include a
transaction which has a low dollar value associated with it (e.g.,
a $10 purchase) or a transaction with low risk (e.g., admission to
a members-only web site).
[0103] Conversely, for authenticating other transactions, it may be
desirable to require a high degree of confidence in the
authentication before allowing the transaction to proceed. Such
transactions may include transactions of large dollar value (e.g.,
signing a multi-million dollar supply contract) or transaction with
a high risk if an improper authentication occurs (e.g., remotely
logging onto a government computer).
[0104] The use of the heuristics 530 in combination with confidence
levels and transactions values may be used as will be described
below to allow the comparator to provide a dynamic
context-sensitive authentication system.
[0105] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
comparator 515 may advantageously track authentication attempts for
a particular transaction. For example, when a transaction fails,
the trust engine 110 may request the user to re-enter his or her
current authentication data. The comparator 515 of the
authentication engine 215 may advantageously employ an attempt
limiter 535 to limit the number of authentication attempts, thereby
prohibiting brute-force attempts to impersonate a user's
authentication data. According to one embodiment, the attempt
limiter 535 comprises a software module monitoring transactions for
repeating authentication attempts and, for example, limiting the
authentication attempts for a given transaction to three. Thus, the
attempt limiter 535 will limit an automated attempt to impersonate
an individual's authentication data to, for example, simply three
"guesses." Upon three failures, the attempt limiter 535 may
advantageously deny additional authentication attempts. Such denial
may advantageously be implemented through, for example, the
comparator 515 returning a negative result regardless of the
current authentication data being transmitted. On the other hand,
the transaction engine 205 may advantageously block any additional
authentication attempts pertaining to a transaction in which three
attempts have previously failed.
[0106] The authentication engine 215 also includes the data
splitting module 520 and the data assembling module 525. The data
splitting module 520 advantageously comprises a software, hardware,
or combination module having the ability to mathematically operate
on various data so as to substantially randomize and split the data
into portions. According to one embodiment, original data is not
recreatable from an individual portion. The data assembling module
525 advantageously comprises a software, hardware, or combination
module configured to mathematically operate on the foregoing
substantially randomized portions, such that the combination
thereof provides the original deciphered data. According to one
embodiment, the authentication engine 215 employs the data
splitting module 520 to randomize and split enrollment
authentication data into portions, and employs the data assembling
module 525 to reassemble the portions into usable enrollment
authentication data.
[0107] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the cryptographic
engine 220 of the trust engine 200 of FIG. 2 according to aspects
of one embodiment of the invention. Similar to the transaction
engine 205 of FIG. 3, the cryptographic engine 220 comprises an
operating system 605 having at least a listening and a handling
thread of a modified version of a conventional Web server, such as,
for example, Web servers available from Apache. As shown in FIG. 6,
the cryptographic engine 220 comprises a data splitting module 610
and a data assembling module 620 that function similar to those of
FIG. 5. However, according to one embodiment, the data splitting
module 610 and the data assembling module 620 process cryptographic
key data, as opposed to the foregoing enrollment authentication
data. Although, a skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein that the data splitting module 910 and the data
splitting module 620 may be combined with those of the
authentication engine 215.
[0108] The cryptographic engine 220 also comprises a cryptographic
handling module 625 configured to perform one, some or all of a
wide number of cryptographic functions. According to one
embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 may comprise
software modules or programs, hardware, or both. According to
another embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 may
perform data comparisons, data parsing, data splitting, data
separating, data hashing, data encryption or decryption, digital
signature verification or creation, digital certificate generation,
storage, or requests, cryptographic key generation, or the like.
Moreover, a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure
herein that the cryptographic handling module 825 may
advantageously comprises a public-key infrastructure, such as
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), an RSA-based public-key system, or a
wide number of alternative key management systems. In addition, the
cryptographic handling module 625 may perform public-key
encryption, symmetric-key encryption, or both. In addition to the
foregoing, the cryptographic handling module 625 may include one or
more computer programs or modules, hardware, or both, for
implementing seamless, transparent, interoperability functions.
[0109] A skilled artisan will also recognize from the disclosure
herein that the cryptographic functionality may include a wide
number or variety of functions generally relating to cryptographic
key management systems.
[0110] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a
depository system 700 according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the depository system 700
advantageously comprises multiple data storage facilities, for
example, data storage facilities D1, D2, D3, and D4. However, it is
readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the
depository system may have only one data storage facility.
According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the data
storage facilities D1 through D4 may advantageously comprise some
or all of the elements disclosed with reference to the depository
210 of FIG. 4. Similar to the depository 210, the data storage
facilities D1 through D4 communicate with the transaction engine
205, the authentication engine 215, and the cryptographic engine
220, preferably through conventional SSL. Communication links
transferring, for example, XML documents. Communications from the
transaction engine 205 may advantageously include requests for
data, wherein the request is advantageously broadcast to the IP
address of each data storage facility D1 through D4. On the other
hand, the transaction engine 205 may broadcast requests to
particular data storage facilities based on a wide number of
criteria, such as, for example, response time, server loads,
maintenance schedules, or the like.
[0111] In response to requests for data from the transaction engine
205, the depository system 700 advantageously forwards stored data
to the authentication engine 215 and the cryptographic engine 220.
The respective data assembling modules receive the forwarded data
and assemble the data into useable formats. On the other hand,
communications from the authentication engine 215 and the
cryptographic engine 220 to the data storage facilities D1 through
D4 may include the transmission of sensitive data to be stored. For
example, according to one embodiment, the authentication engine 215
and the cryptographic engine 220 may advantageously employ their
respective data splitting modules to divide sensitive data into
undecipherable portions, and then transmit one or more
undecipherable portions of the sensitive data to a particular data
storage facility.
[0112] According to one embodiment, each data storage facility, D1
through D4, comprises a separate and independent storage system,
such as, for example, a directory server. According to another
embodiment of the invention, the depository system 700 comprises
multiple geographically separated independent data storage systems.
By distributing the sensitive data into distinct and independent
storage facilities D1 through D4, some or all of which may be
advantageously geographically separated, the depository system 700
provides redundancy along with additional security measures. For
example, according to one embodiment, only data from two of the
multiple data storage facilities, D1 through D4, are needed to
decipher and reassemble the sensitive data. Thus, as many as two of
the four data storage facilities D1 through D4 may be inoperative
due to maintenance, system failure, power failure, or the like,
without affecting the functionality of the trust engine 110. In
addition, because, according to one embodiment, the data stored in
each data storage facility is randomized and undecipherable,
compromise of any individual data storage facility does not
necessarily compromise the sensitive data. Moreover, in the
embodiment having geographical separation of the data storage
facilities, a compromise of multiple geographically remote
facilities becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, even a rogue
employee will be greatly challenged to subvert the needed multiple
independent geographically remote data storage facilities.
[0113] Although the depository system 700 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred and alternative embodiments, the
invention is not intended to be limited thereby. Rather, a skilled
artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of
alternatives for the depository system 700. For example, the
depository system 700 may comprise one, two or more data storage
facilities. In addition, sensitive data may be mathematically
operated such that portions from two or more data storage
facilities are needed to reassemble and decipher the sensitive
data.
[0114] As mentioned in the foregoing, the authentication engine 215
and the cryptographic engine 220 each include a data splitting
module 520 and 610, respectively, for splitting any type or form of
sensitive data, such as, for example, text, audio, video, the
authentication data and the cryptographic key data. FIG. 8
illustrates a flowchart of a data splitting process 800 performed
by the data splitting module according to aspects of an embodiment
of the invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the data splitting process
800 begins at step 805 when sensitive data "S" is received by the
data splitting module of the authentication engine 215 or the
cryptographic engine 220. Preferably, in step 810, the data
splitting module then generates a substantially random number,
value, or string or set of bits, "A." For example, the random
number A may be generated in a wide number of varying conventional
techniques available to one of ordinary skill in the art, for
producing high quality random numbers suitable for use in
cryptographic applications. In addition, according to one
embodiment, the random number A comprises a bit length which may be
any suitable length, such as shorter, longer or equal to the bit
length of the sensitive data, S.
[0115] In addition, in step 820 the data splitting process 800
generates another statistically random number "C." According to the
preferred embodiment, the generation of the statistically random
numbers A and C may advantageously be done in parallel. The data
splitting module then combines the numbers A and C with the
sensitive data S such that new numbers "B" and "D" are generated.
For example, number B may comprise the binary combination of A XOR
S and number D may comprise the binary combination of C XOR S. The
XOR function, or the "exclusive-or" function, is well known to
those of ordinary skill in the art. The foregoing combinations
preferably occur in steps 825 and 830, respectively, and, according
to one embodiment, the foregoing combinations also occur in
parallel. The data splitting process 800 then proceeds to step 835
where the random numbers A and C and the numbers B and D are paired
such that none of the pairings contain sufficient data, by
themselves, to reorganize and decipher the original sensitive data
S. For example, the numbers may be paired as follows: AC, AD, BC,
and BD. According to one embodiment, each of the foregoing pairings
is distributed to one of the depositories D1 through D4 of FIG. 7.
According to another embodiment, each of the foregoing pairings is
randomly distributed to one of the depositories D1 through D4. For
example, during a first data splitting process 800, the pairing AC
may be sent to depository D2, through, for example, a random
selection of D2's IP address. Then, during a second data splitting
process 800, the pairing AC may be sent to depository D4, through,
for example, a random selection of D4's IP address. In addition,
the pairings may all be stored on one depository, and may be stored
in separate locations on said depository.
[0116] Based on the foregoing, the data splitting process 800
advantageously places portions of the sensitive data in each of the
four data storage facilities D1 through D4, such that no single
data storage facility D1 through D4 includes sufficient encrypted
data to recreate the original sensitive data S. As mentioned in the
foregoing, such randomization of the data into individually
unusable encrypted portions increases security and provides for
maintained trust in the data even if one of the data storage
facilities, D1 through D4, is compromised.
[0117] Although the data splitting process 800 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred embodiment, the invention is not
intended to be limited thereby. Rather a skilled artisan will
recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of alternatives
for the data splitting process 800. For example, the data splitting
process may advantageously split the data into two numbers, for
example, random number A and number B and, randomly distribute A
and B through two data storage facilities. Moreover, the data
splitting process 800 may advantageously split the data among a
wide number of data storage facilities through generation of
additional random numbers. The data may be split into any desired,
selected, predetermined, or randomly assigned size unit, including
but not limited to, a bit, bits, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or
larger, or any combination or sequence of sizes. In addition,
varying the sizes of the data units resulting from the splitting
process may render the data more difficult to restore to a useable
form, thereby increasing security of sensitive data. It is readily
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the split data
unit sizes may be a wide variety of data unit sizes or patterns of
sizes or combinations of sizes. For example, the data unit sizes
may be selected or predetermined to be all of the same size, a
fixed set of different sizes, a combination of sizes, or randomly
generates sizes. Similarly, the data units may be distributed into
one or more shares according to a fixed or predetermined data unit
size, a pattern or combination of data unit sizes, or a randomly
generated data unit size or sizes per share.
[0118] As mentioned in the foregoing, in order to recreate the
sensitive data S, the data portions need to be derandomized and
reorganized. This process may advantageously occur in the data
assembling modules, 525 and 620, of the authentication engine 215
and the cryptographic engine 220, respectively. The data assembling
module, for example, data assembly module 525, receives data
portions from the data storage facilities D1 through D4, and
reassembles the data into useable form. For example, according to
one embodiment where the data splitting module 520 employed the
data splitting process 800 of FIG. 8, the data assembling module
525 uses data portions from at least two of the data storage
facilities D1 through D4 to recreate the sensitive data S. For
example, the pairings of AC, AD, BC, and BD, were distributed such
that any two provide one of A and B, or, C and D. Noting that S=A
XOR B or S=C XOR D indicates that when the data assembling module
receives one of A and B, or, C and D, the data assembling module
525 can advantageously reassemble the sensitive data S. Thus, the
data assembling module 525 may assemble the sensitive data S, when,
for example, it receives data portions from at least the first two
of the data storage facilities D1 through D4 to respond to an
assemble request by the trust engine 110.
[0119] Based on the above data splitting and assembling processes,
the sensitive data S exists in usable format only in a limited area
of the trust engine 110. For example, when the sensitive data S
includes enrollment authentication data, usable, nonrandomized
enrollment authentication data is available only in the
authentication engine 215. Likewise, when the sensitive data S
includes private cryptographic key data, usable, nonrandomized
private cryptographic key data is available only in the
cryptographic engine 220.
[0120] Although the data splitting and assembling processes are
disclosed with reference to their preferred embodiments, the
invention is not intended to be limited thereby. Rather, a skilled
artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of
alternatives for splitting and reassembling the sensitive data S.
For example, public-key encryption may be used to further secure
the data at the data storage facilities D1 through D4. In addition,
it is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that
the data splitting module described herein is also a separate and
distinct embodiment of the present invention that may be
incorporated into, combined with or otherwise made part of any
pre-existing computer systems, software suites, database, or
combinations thereof, or other embodiments of the present
invention, such as the trust engine, authentication engine, and
transaction engine disclosed and described herein.
[0121] FIG. 9A illustrates a data flow of an enrollment process 900
according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention. As shown in
FIG. 9A, the enrollment process 900 begins at step 905 when a user
desires to enroll with the trust engine 110 of the cryptographic
system 100. According to this embodiment, the user system 105
advantageously includes a client-side applet, such as a Java-based,
that queries the user to enter enrollment data, such as demographic
data and enrollment authentication data. According to one
embodiment, the enrollment authentication data includes user ID,
password(s), biometric(s), or the like. According to one
embodiment, during the querying process, the client-side applet
preferably communicates with the trust engine 110 to ensure that a
chosen user ID is unique. When the user ID is nonunique, the trust
engine 110 may advantageously suggest a unique user ID. The
client-side applet gathers the enrollment data and transmits the
enrollment data, for example, through and XML document, to the
trust engine 110, and in particular, to the transaction engine 205.
According to one embodiment, the transmission is encoded with the
public key of the authentication engine 215.
[0122] According to one embodiment, the user performs a single
enrollment during step 905 of the enrollment process 900. For
example, the user enrolls himself or herself as a particular
person, such as Joe User. When Joe User desires to enroll as Joe
User, CEO of Mega Corp., then according to this embodiment, Joe
User enrolls a second time, receives a second unique user ID and
the trust engine 110 does not associate the two identities.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the enrollment
process 900 provides for multiple user identities for a single user
ID. Thus, in the above example, the trust engine 110 will
advantageously associate the two identities of Joe User. As will be
understood by a skilled artisan from the disclosure herein, a user
may have many identities, for example, Joe User the head of
household, Joe User the member of the Charitable Foundations, and
the like. Even though the user may have multiple identities,
according to this embodiment, the trust engine 110 preferably
stores only one set of enrollment data. Moreover, users may
advantageously add, edit/update, or delete identities as they are
needed.
[0123] Although the enrollment process 900 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred embodiment, the invention is not
intended to be limited thereby. Rather, a skilled artisan will
recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of alternatives
for gathering of enrollment data, and in particular, enrollment
authentication data. For example, the applet may be common object
model (COM) based applet or the like.
[0124] On the other hand, the enrollment process may include graded
enrollment. For example, at a lowest level of enrollment, the user
may enroll over the communication link 125 without producing
documentation as to his or her identity. According to an increased
level of enrollment, the user enrolls using a trusted third party,
such as a digital notary. For example, and the user may appear in
person to the trusted third party, produce credentials such as a
birth certificate, driver's license, military ID, or the like, and
the trusted third party may advantageously include, for example,
their digital signature in enrollment submission. The trusted third
party may include an actual notary, a government agency, such as
the Post Office or Department of Motor Vehicles, a human resources
person in a large company enrolling an employee, or the like. A
skilled artisan will understand from the disclosure herein that a
wide number of varying levels of enrollment may occur during the
enrollment process 900.
[0125] After receiving the enrollment authentication data, at step
915, the transaction engine 205, using conventional FULL SSL
technology forwards the enrollment authentication data to the
authentication engine 215. In step 920, the authentication engine
215 decrypts the enrollment authentication data using the private
key of the authentication engine 215. In addition, the
authentication engine 215 employs the data splitting module to
mathematically operate on the enrollment authentication data so as
to split the data into at least two independently undecipherable,
randomized, numbers. As mentioned in the foregoing, at least two
numbers may comprise a statistically random number and a binary
XORed number. In step 925, the authentication engine 215 forwards
each portion of the randomized numbers to one of the data storage
facilities D1 through D4. As mentioned in the foregoing, the
authentication engine 215 may also advantageously randomize which
portions are transferred to which depositories.
[0126] Often during the enrollment process 900, the user will also
desire to have a digital certificate issued such that he or she may
receive encrypted documents from others outside the cryptographic
system 100. As mentioned in the foregoing, the certificate
authority 115 generally issues digital certificates according to
one or more of several conventional standards. Generally, the
digital certificate includes a public key of the user or system,
which is known to everyone.
[0127] Whether the user requests a digital certificate at
enrollment, or at another time, the request is transferred through
the trust engine 110 to the authentication engine 215. According to
one embodiment, the request includes an XML document having, for
example, the proper name of the user. According to step 935, the
authentication engine 215 transfers the request to the
cryptographic engine 220 instructing the cryptographic engine 220
to generate a cryptographic key or key pair.
[0128] Upon request, at step 935, the cryptographic engine 220
generates at least one cryptographic key. According to one
embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 generates a key
pair, where one key is used as a private key, and one is used as a
public key. The cryptographic engine 220 stores the private key
and, according to one embodiment, a copy of the public key. In step
945, the cryptographic engine 220 transmits a request for a digital
certificate to the transaction engine 205. According to one
embodiment, the request advantageously includes a standardized
request, such as PKCS10, embedded in, for example, an XML document.
The request for a digital certificate may advantageously correspond
to one or more certificate authorities and the one or more standard
formats the certificate authorities require.
[0129] In step 950 the transaction engine 205 forwards this request
to the certificate authority 115, who, in step 955, returns a
digital certificate. The return digital certificate may
advantageously be in a standardized format, such as PKCS7, or in a
proprietary format of one or more of the certificate authorities
115. In step 960, the digital certificate is received by the
transaction engine 205, and a copy is forwarded to the user and a
copy is stored with the trust engine 110. The trust engine 110
stores a copy of the certificate such that the trust engine 110
will not need to rely on the availability of the certificate
authority 115. For example, when the user desires to send a digital
certificate, or a third party requests the user's digital
certificate, the request for the digital certificate is typically
sent to the certificate authority 115. However, if the certificate
authority 115 is conducting maintenance or has been victim of a
failure or security compromise, the digital certificate may not be
available.
[0130] At any time after issuing the cryptographic keys, the
cryptographic engine 220 may advantageously employ the data
splitting process 800 described above such that the cryptographic
keys are split into independently undecipherable randomized
numbers. Similar to the authentication data, at step 965 the
cryptographic engine 220 transfers the randomized numbers to the
data storage facilities D1 through D4.
[0131] A skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein
that the user may request a digital certificate anytime after
enrollment. Moreover, the communications between systems may
advantageously include FULL SSL or public-key encryption
technologies. Moreover, the enrollment process may issue multiple
digital certificates from multiple certificate authorities,
including one or more proprietary certificate authorities internal
or external to the trust engine 110.
[0132] As disclosed in steps 935 through 960, one embodiment of the
invention includes the request for a certificate that is eventually
stored on the trust engine 110. Because, according to one
embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 issues the keys
used by the trust engine 110, each certificate corresponds to a
private key. Therefore, the trust engine 110 may advantageously
provide for interoperability through monitoring the certificates
owned by, or associated with, a user. For example, when the
cryptographic engine 220 receives a request for a cryptographic
function, the cryptographic handling module 625 may investigate the
certificates owned by the requesting user to determine whether the
user owns a private key matching the attributes of the request.
When such a certificate exists, the cryptographic handling module
625 may use the certificate or the public or private keys
associated therewith, to perform the requested function. When such
a certificate does not exist, the cryptographic handling module 625
may advantageously and transparently perform a number of actions to
attempt to remedy the lack of an appropriate key. For example, FIG.
9B illustrates a flowchart of an interoperability process 970,
which according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention,
discloses the foregoing steps to ensure the cryptographic handling
module 625 performs cryptographic functions using appropriate
keys.
[0133] As shown in FIG. 9B, the interoperability process 970 begins
with step 972 where the cryptographic handling module 925
determines the type of certificate desired. According to one
embodiment of the invention, the type of certificate may
advantageously be specified in the request for cryptographic
functions, or other data provided by the requestor. According to
another embodiment, the certificate type may be ascertained by the
data format of the request. For example, the cryptographic handling
module 925 may advantageously recognize the request corresponds to
a particular type.
[0134] According to one embodiment, the certificate type may
include one or more algorithm standards, for example, RSA, ELGAMAL,
or the like. In addition, the certificate type may include one or
more key types, such as symmetric keys, public keys, strong
encryption keys such as 256 bit keys, less secure keys, or the
like. Moreover, the certificate type may include upgrades or
replacements of one or more of the foregoing algorithm standards or
keys, one or more message or data formats, one or more data
encapsulation or encoding schemes, such as Base 32 or Base 64. The
certificate type may also include compatibility with one or more
third-party cryptographic applications or interfaces, one or more
communication protocols, or one or more certificate standards or
protocols. A skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure
herein that other differences may exist in certificate types, and
translations to and from those differences may be implemented as
disclosed herein.
[0135] Once the cryptographic handling module 625 determines the
certificate type, the interoperability process 970 proceeds to step
974, and determines whether the user owns a certificate matching
the type determined in step 974. When the user owns a matching
certificate, for example, the trust engine 110 has access to the
matching certificate through, for example, prior storage thereof,
the cryptographic handling module 825 knows that a matching private
key is also stored within the trust engine 110. For example, the
matching private key may be stored within the depository 210 or
depository system 700. The cryptographic handling module 625 may
advantageously request the matching private key be assembled from,
for example, the depository 210, and then in step 976, use the
matching private key to perform cryptographic actions or functions.
For example, as mentioned in the foregoing, the cryptographic
handling module 625 may advantageously perform hashing, hash
comparisons, data encryption or decryption, digital signature
verification or creation, or the like.
[0136] When the user does not own a matching certificate, the
interoperability process 970 proceeds to step 978 where the
cryptographic handling module 625 determines whether the users owns
a cross-certified certificate. According to one embodiment,
cross-certification between certificate authorities occurs when a
first certificate authority determines to trust certificates from a
second certificate authority. In other words, the first certificate
authority determines that certificates from the second certificate
authority meets certain quality standards, and therefore, may be
"certified" as equivalent to the first certificate authority's own
certificates. Cross-certification becomes more complex when the
certificate authorities issue, for example, certificates having
levels of trust. For example, the first certificate authority may
provide three levels of trust for a particular certificate, usually
based on the degree of reliability in the enrollment process, while
the second certificate authority may provide seven levels of trust.
Cross-certification may advantageously track which levels and which
certificates from the second certificate authority may be
substituted for which levels and which certificates from the first.
When the foregoing cross-certification is done officially and
publicly between two certification authorities, the mapping of
certificates and levels to one another is often called
"chaining."
[0137] According to another embodiment of the invention, the
cryptographic handling module 625 may advantageously develop
cross-certifications outside those agreed upon by the certificate
authorities. For example, the cryptographic handling module 625 may
access a first certificate authority's certificate practice
statement (CPS), or other published policy statement, and using,
for example, the authentication tokens required by particular trust
levels, match the first certificate authority's certificates to
those of another certificate authority.
[0138] When, in step 978, the cryptographic handling module 625
determines that the users owns a cross-certified certificate, the
interoperability process 970 proceeds to step 976, and performs the
cryptographic action or function using the cross-certified public
key, private key, or both. Alternatively, when the cryptographic
handling module 625 determines that the users does not own a
cross-certified certificate, the interoperability process 970
proceeds to step 980, where the cryptographic handling module 625
selects a certificate authority that issues the requested
certificate type, or a certificate cross-certified thereto. In step
982, the cryptographic handling module 625 determines whether the
user enrollment authentication data, discussed in the foregoing,
meets the authentication requirements of the chosen certificate
authority. For example, if the user enrolled over a network by, for
example, answering demographic and other questions, the
authentication data provided may establish a lower level of trust
than a user providing biometric data and appearing before a
third-party, such as, for example, a notary. According to one
embodiment, the foregoing authentication requirements may
advantageously be provided in the chosen authentication authority's
CPS.
[0139] When the user has provided the trust engine 110 with
enrollment authentication data meeting the requirements of chosen
certificate authority, the interoperability process 970 proceeds to
step 984, where the cryptographic handling module 825 acquires the
certificate from the chosen certificate authority. According to one
embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 acquires the
certificate by following steps 945 through 960 of the enrollment
process 900. For example, the cryptographic handling module 625 may
advantageously employ one or more public keys from one or more of
the key pairs already available to the cryptographic engine 220, to
request the certificate from the certificate authority. According
to another embodiment, the cryptographic handling module 625 may
advantageously generate one or more new key pairs, and use the
public keys corresponding thereto, to request the certificate from
the certificate authority.
[0140] According to another embodiment, the trust engine 110 may
advantageously include one or more certificate issuing modules
capable of issuing one or more certificate types. According to this
embodiment, the certificate issuing module may provide the
foregoing certificate. When the cryptographic handling module 625
acquires the certificate, the interoperability process 970 proceeds
to step 976, and performs the cryptographic action or function
using the public key, private key, or both corresponding to the
acquired certificate.
[0141] When the user, in step 982, has not provided the trust
engine 110 with enrollment authentication data meeting the
requirements of chosen certificate authority, the cryptographic
handling module 625 determines, in step 986 whether there are other
certificate authorities that have different authentication
requirements. For example, the cryptographic handling module 625
may look for certificate authorities having lower authentication
requirements, but still issue the chosen certificates, or
cross-certifications thereof.
[0142] When the foregoing certificate authority having lower
requirements exists, the interoperability process 970 proceeds to
step 980 and chooses that certificate authority. Alternatively,
when no such certificate authority exists, in step 988, the trust
engine 110 may request additional authentication tokens from the
user. For example, the trust engine 110 may request new enrollment
authentication data comprising, for example, biometric data. Also,
the trust engine 110 may request the user appear before a trusted
third party and provide appropriate authenticating credentials,
such as, for example, appearing before a notary with a drivers
license, social security card, bank card, birth certificate,
military ID, or the like. When the trust engine 110 receives
updated authentication data, the interoperability process 970
proceeds to step 984 and acquires the foregoing chosen
certificate.
[0143] Through the foregoing interoperability process 970, the
cryptographic handling module 625 advantageously provides seamless,
transparent, translations and conversions between differing
cryptographic systems. A skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein, a wide number of advantages and implementations
of the foregoing interoperable system. For example, the foregoing
step 986 of the interoperability process 970 may advantageously
include aspects of trust arbitrage, discussed in further detail
below, where the certificate authority may under special
circumstances accept lower levels of cross-certification. In
addition, the interoperability process 970 may include ensuring
interoperability between and employment of standard certificate
revocations, such as employing certificate revocation lists (CRL),
online certificate status protocols (OCSP), or the like.
[0144] FIG. 10 illustrates a data flow of an authentication process
1000 according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention.
According to one embodiment, the authentication process 1000
includes gathering current authentication data from a user and
comparing that to the enrollment authentication data of the user.
For example, the authentication process 1000 begins at step 1005
where a user desires to perform a transaction with, for example, a
vendor. Such transactions may include, for example, selecting a
purchase option, requesting access to a restricted area or device
of the vendor system 120, or the like. At step 1010, a vendor
provides the user with a transaction ID and an authentication
request. The transaction ID may advantageously include a 192 bit
quantity having a 32 bit timestamp concatenated with a 128 bit
random quantity, or a "nonce," concatenated with a 32 bit vendor
specific constant. Such a transaction ID uniquely identifies the
transaction such that copycat transactions can be refused by the
trust engine 110.
[0145] The authentication request may advantageously include what
level of authentication is needed for a particular transaction. For
example, the vendor may specify a particular level of confidence
that is required for the transaction at issue. If authentication
cannot be made to this level of confidence, as will be discussed
below, the transaction will not occur without either further
authentication by the user to raise the level of confidence, or a
change in the terms of the authentication between the vendor and
the server. These issues are discussed more completely below.
[0146] According to one embodiment, the transaction ID and the
authentication request may be advantageously generated by a
vendor-side applet or other software program. In addition, the
transmission of the transaction ID and authentication data may
include one or more XML documents encrypted using conventional SSL
technology, such as, for example, 1/2 SSL, or, in other words
vendor-side authenticated SSL.
[0147] After the user system 105 receives the transaction ID and
authentication request, the user system 105 gathers the current
authentication data, potentially including current biometric
information, from the user. The user system 105, at step 1015,
encrypts at least the current authentication data "B" and the
transaction ID, with the public key of the authentication engine
215, and transfers that data to the trust engine 110. The
transmission preferably comprises XML documents encrypted with at
least conventional 1/2 SSL technology. In step 1020, the
transaction engine 205 receives the transmission, preferably
recognizes the data format or request in the URL or URI, and
forwards the transmission to the authentication engine 215.
[0148] During steps 1015 and 1020, the vendor system 120, at step
1025, forwards the transaction ID and the authentication request to
the trust engine 110, using the preferred FULL SSL technology. This
communication may also include a vendor ID, although vendor
identification may also be communicated through a non-random
portion of the transaction ID. At steps 1030 and 1035, the
transaction engine 205 receives the communication, creates a record
in the audit trail, and generates a request for the user's
enrollment authentication data to be assembled from the data
storage facilities D1 through D4. At step 1040, the depository
system 700 transfers the portions of the enrollment authentication
data corresponding to the user to the authentication engine 215. At
step 1045, the authentication engine 215 decrypts the transmission
using its private key and compares the enrollment authentication
data to the current authentication data provided by the user.
[0149] The comparison of step 1045 may advantageously apply
heuristical context sensitive authentication, as referred to in the
forgoing, and discussed in further detail below. For example, if
the biometric information received does not match perfectly, a
lower confidence match results. In particular embodiments, the
level of confidence of the authentication is balanced against the
nature of the transaction and the desires of both the user and the
vendor. Again, this is discussed in greater detail below.
[0150] At step 1050, the authentication engine 215 fills in the
authentication request with the result of the comparison of step
1045. According to one embodiment of the invention, the
authentication request is filled with a YES/NO or TRUE/FALSE result
of the authentication process 1000. In step 1055 the filled-in
authentication request is returned to the vendor for the vendor to
act upon, for example, allowing the user to complete the
transaction that initiated the authentication request. According to
one embodiment, a confirmation message is passed to the user.
[0151] Based on the foregoing, the authentication process 1000
advantageously keeps sensitive data secure and produces results
configured to maintain the integrity of the sensitive data. For
example, the sensitive data is assembled only inside the
authentication engine 215. For example, the enrollment
authentication data is undecipherable until it is assembled in the
authentication engine 215 by the data assembling module, and the
current authentication data is undecipherable until it is unwrapped
by the conventional SSL technology and the private key of the
authentication engine 215. Moreover, the authentication result
transmitted to the vendor does not include the sensitive data, and
the user may not even know whether he or she produced valid
authentication data.
[0152] Although the authentication process 1000 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred and alternative embodiments, the
invention is not intended to be limited thereby. Rather, a skilled
artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of
alternatives for the authentication process 1000. For example, the
vendor may advantageously be replaced by almost any requesting
application, even those residing with the user system 105. For
example, a client application, such as Microsoft Word, may use an
application program interface (API) or a cryptographic API (CAPI)
to request authentication before unlocking a document.
Alternatively, a mail server, a network, a cellular phone, a
personal or mobile computing device, a workstation, or the like,
may all make authentication requests that can be filled by the
authentication process 1000. In fact, after providing the foregoing
trusted authentication process 1000, the requesting application or
device may provide access to or use of a wide number of electronic
or computer devices or systems.
[0153] Moreover, the authentication process 1000 may employ a wide
number of alternative procedures in the event of authentication
failure. For example, authentication failure may maintain the same
transaction ID and request that the user reenter his or her current
authentication data. As mentioned in the foregoing, use of the same
transaction ID allows the comparator of the authentication engine
215 to monitor and limit the number of authentication attempts for
a particular transaction, thereby creating a more secure
cryptographic system 100.
[0154] In addition, the authentication process 1000 may be
advantageously be employed to develop elegant single sign-on
solutions, such as, unlocking a sensitive data vault. For example,
successful or positive authentication may provide the authenticated
user the ability to automatically access any number of passwords
for an almost limitless number of systems and applications. For
example, authentication of a user may provide the user access to
password, login, financial credentials, or the like, associated
with multiple online vendors, a local area network, various
personal computing devices, Internet service providers, auction
providers, investment brokerages, or the like. By employing a
sensitive data vault, users may choose truly large and random
passwords because they no longer need to remember them through
association. Rather, the authentication process 1000 provides
access thereto. For example, a user may choose a random
alphanumeric string that is twenty plus digits in length rather
than something associated with a memorable data, name, etc.
[0155] According to one embodiment, a sensitive data vault
associated with a given user may advantageously be stored in the
data storage facilities of the depository 210, or split and stored
in the depository system 700. According to this embodiment, after
positive user authentication, the trust engine 110 serves the
requested sensitive data, such as, for example, to the appropriate
password to the requesting application. According to another
embodiment, the trust engine 110 may include a separate system for
storing the sensitive data vault. For example, the trust engine 110
may include a stand-alone software engine implementing the data
vault functionality and figuratively residing "behind" the
foregoing front-end security system of the trust engine 110.
According to this embodiment, the software engine serves the
requested sensitive data after the software engine receives a
signal indicating positive user authentication from the trust
engine 110.
[0156] In yet another embodiment, the data vault may be implemented
by a third-party system. Similar to the software engine embodiment,
the third-party system may advantageously serve the requested
sensitive data after the third-party system receives a signal
indicating positive user authentication from the trust engine 110.
According to yet another embodiment, the data vault may be
implemented on the user system 105. A user-side software engine may
advantageously serve the foregoing data after receiving a signal
indicating positive user authentication from the trust engine
110.
[0157] Although the foregoing data vaults are disclosed with
reference to alternative embodiments, a skilled artisan will
recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of additional
implementations thereof. For example, a particular data vault may
include aspects from some or all of the foregoing embodiments. In
addition, any of the foregoing data vaults may employ one or more
authentication requests at varying times. For example, any of the
data vaults may require authentication every one or more
transactions, periodically, every one or more sessions, every
access to one or more Webpages or Websites, at one or more other
specified intervals, or the like.
[0158] FIG. 11 illustrates a data flow of a signing process 1100
according to aspects of an embodiment of the invention. As shown in
FIG. 11, the signing process 1100 includes steps similar to those
of the authentication process 1000 described in the foregoing with
reference to FIG. 10. According to one embodiment of the invention,
the signing process 1100 first authenticates the user and then
performs one or more of several digital signing functions as will
be discussed in further detail below. According to another
embodiment, the signing process 1100 may advantageously store data
related thereto, such as hashes of messages or documents, or the
like. This data may advantageously be used in an audit or any other
event, such as for example, when a participating party attempts to
repudiate a transaction.
[0159] As shown in FIG. 11, during the authentication steps, the
user and vendor may advantageously agree on a message, such as, for
example, a contract. During signing, the signing process 1100
advantageously ensures that the contract signed by the user is
identical to the contract supplied by the vendor. Therefore,
according to one embodiment, during authentication, the vendor and
the user include a hash of their respective copies of the message
or contract, in the data transmitted to the authentication engine
215. By employing only a hash of a message or contract, the trust
engine 110 may advantageously store a significantly reduced amount
of data, providing for a more efficient and cost effective
cryptographic system. In addition, the stored hash may be
advantageously compared to a hash of a document in question to
determine whether the document in question matches one signed by
any of the parties. The ability to determine whether the document
is identical to one relating to a transaction provides for
additional evidence that can be used against a claim for
repudiation by a party to a transaction.
[0160] In step 1103, the authentication engine 215 assembles the
enrollment authentication data and compares it to the current
authentication data provided by the user. When the comparator of
the authentication engine 215 indicates that the enrollment
authentication data matches the current authentication data, the
comparator of the authentication engine 215 also compares the hash
of the message supplied by the vendor to the hash of the message
supplied by the user. Thus, the authentication engine 215
advantageously ensures that the message agreed to by the user is
identical to that agreed to by the vendor.
[0161] In step 1105, the authentication engine 215 transmits a
digital signature request to the cryptographic engine 220.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the request includes
a hash of the message or contract. However, a skilled artisan will
recognize from the disclosure herein that the cryptographic engine
220 may encrypt virtually any type of data, including, but not
limited to, video, audio, biometrics, images or text to form the
desired digital signature. Returning to step 1105, the digital
signature request preferably comprises an XML document communicated
through conventional SSL technologies.
[0162] In step 1110, the authentication engine 215 transmits a
request to each of the data storage facilities D1 through D4, such
that each of the data storage facilities D1 through D4 transmit
their respective portion of the cryptographic key or keys
corresponding to a signing party. According to another embodiment,
the cryptographic engine 220 employs some or all of the steps of
the interoperability process 970 discussed in the foregoing, such
that the cryptographic engine 220 first determines the appropriate
key or keys to request from the depository 210 or the depository
system 700 for the signing party, and takes actions to provide
appropriate matching keys. According to still another embodiment,
the authentication engine 215 or the cryptographic engine 220 may
advantageously request one or more of the keys associated with the
signing party and stored in the depository 210 or depository system
700.
[0163] According to one embodiment, the signing party includes one
or both the user and the vendor. In such case, the authentication
engine 215 advantageously requests the cryptographic keys
corresponding to the user and/or the vendor. According to another
embodiment, the signing party includes the trust engine 110. In
this embodiment, the trust engine 110 is certifying that the
authentication process 1000 properly authenticated the user,
vendor, or both. Therefore, the authentication engine 215 requests
the cryptographic key of the trust engine 110, such as, for
example, the key belonging to the cryptographic engine 220, to
perform the digital signature. According to another embodiment, the
trust engine 110 performs a digital notary-like function. In this
embodiment, the signing party includes the user, vendor, or both,
along with the trust engine 110. Thus, the trust engine 110
provides the digital signature of the user and/or vendor, and then
indicates with its own digital signature that the user and/or
vendor were properly authenticated. In this embodiment, the
authentication engine 215 may advantageously request assembly of
the cryptographic keys corresponding to the user, the vendor, or
both. According to another embodiment, the authentication engine
215 may advantageously request assembly of the cryptographic keys
corresponding to the trust engine 110.
[0164] According to another embodiment, the trust engine 110
performs power of attorney-like functions. For example, the trust
engine 110 may digitally sign the message on behalf of a third
party. In such case, the authentication engine 215 requests the
cryptographic keys associated with the third party. According to
this embodiment, the signing process 1100 may advantageously
include authentication of the third party, before allowing power of
attorney-like functions. In addition, the authentication process
1000 may include a check for third party constraints, such as, for
example, business logic or the like dictating when and in what
circumstances a particular third-party's signature may be used.
[0165] Based on the foregoing, in step 1110, the authentication
engine requested the cryptographic keys from the data storage
facilities D1 through D4 corresponding to the signing party. In
step 1115, the data storage facilities D1 through D4 transmit their
respective portions of the cryptographic key corresponding to the
signing party to the cryptographic engine 220. According to one
embodiment, the foregoing transmissions include SSL technologies.
According to another embodiment, the foregoing transmissions may
advantageously be super-encrypted with the public key of the
cryptographic engine 220.
[0166] In step 1120, the cryptographic engine 220 assembles the
foregoing cryptographic keys of the signing party and encrypts the
message therewith, thereby forming the digital signature(s). In
step 1125 of the signing process 1100, the cryptographic engine 220
transmits the digital signature(s) to the authentication engine
215. In step 1130, the authentication engine 215 transmits the
filled-in authentication request along with a copy of the hashed
message and the digital signature(s) to the transaction engine 205.
In step 1135, the transaction engine 205 transmits a receipt
comprising the transaction ID, an indication of whether the
authentication was successful, and the digital signature(s), to the
vendor. According to one embodiment, the foregoing transmission may
advantageously include the digital signature of the trust engine
110. For example, the trust engine 110 may encrypt the hash of the
receipt with its private key, thereby forming a digital signature
to be attached to the transmission to the vendor.
[0167] According to one embodiment, the transaction engine 205 also
transmits a confirmation message to the user. Although the signing
process 1100 is disclosed with reference to its preferred and
alternative embodiments, the invention is not intended to be
limited thereby. Rather, a skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein, a wide number of alternatives for the signing
process 1100. For example, the vendor may be replaced with a user
application, such as an email application. For example, the user
may wish to digitally sign a particular email with his or her
digital signature. In such an embodiment, the transmission
throughout the signing process 1100 may advantageously include only
one copy of a hash of the message. Moreover, a skilled artisan will
recognize from the disclosure herein that a wide number of client
applications may request digital signatures. For example, the
client applications may comprise word processors, spreadsheets,
emails, voicemail, access to restricted system areas, or the
like.
[0168] In addition, a skilled artisan will recognize from the
disclosure herein that steps 1105 through 1120 of the signing
process 1100 may advantageously employ some or all of the steps of
the interoperability process 970 of FIG. 9B, thereby providing
interoperability between differing cryptographic systems that may,
for example, need to process the digital signature under differing
signature types.
[0169] FIG. 12 illustrates a data flow of an encryption/decryption
process 1200 according to aspects of an embodiment of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the decryption process 1200 begins
by authenticating the user using the authentication process 1000.
According to one embodiment, the authentication process 1000
includes in the authentication request, a synchronous session key.
For example, in conventional PKI technologies, it is understood by
skilled artisans that encrypting or decrypting data using public
and private keys is mathematically intensive and may require
significant system resources. However, in symmetric key
cryptographic systems, or systems where the sender and receiver of
a message share a single common key that is used to encrypt and
decrypt a message, the mathematical operations are significantly
simpler and faster. Thus, in the conventional PKI technologies, the
sender of a message will generate synchronous session key, and
encrypt the message using the simpler, faster symmetric key system.
Then, the sender will encrypt the session key with the public key
of the receiver. The encrypted session key will be attached to the
synchronously encrypted message and both data are sent to the
receiver. The receiver uses his or her private key to decrypt the
session key, and then uses the session key to decrypt the message.
Based on the foregoing, the simpler and faster symmetric key system
is used for the majority of the encryption/decryption processing.
Thus, in the decryption process 1200, the decryption advantageously
assumes that a synchronous key has been encrypted with the public
key of the user. Thus, as mentioned in the foregoing, the encrypted
session key is included in the authentication request.
[0170] Returning to the decryption process 1200, after the user has
been authenticated in step 1205, the authentication engine 215
forwards the encrypted session key to the cryptographic engine 220.
In step 1210, the authentication engine 215 forwards a request to
each of the data storage facilities, D1 through D4, requesting the
cryptographic key data of the user. In step 1215, each data storage
facility, D1 through D4, transmits their respective portion of the
cryptographic key to the cryptographic engine 220. According to one
embodiment, the foregoing transmission is encrypted with the public
key of the cryptographic engine 220.
[0171] In step 1220 of the decryption process 1200, the
cryptographic engine 220 assembles the cryptographic key and
decrypts the session key therewith. In step 1225, the cryptographic
engine forwards the session key to the authentication engine 215.
In step 1227, the authentication engine 215 fills in the
authentication request including the decrypted session key, and
transmits the filled-in authentication request to the transaction
engine 205. In step 1230, the transaction engine 205 forwards the
authentication request along with the session key to the requesting
application or vendor. Then, according to one embodiment, the
requesting application or vendor uses the session key to decrypt
the encrypted message.
[0172] Although the decryption process 1200 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred and alternative embodiments, a skilled
artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein, a wide number of
alternatives for the decryption process 1200. For example, the
decryption process 1200 may forego synchronous key encryption and
rely on full public-key technology. In such an embodiment, the
requesting application may transmit the entire message to the
cryptographic engine 220, or, may employ some type of compression
or reversible hash in order to transmit the message to the
cryptographic engine 220. A skilled artisan will also recognize
from the disclosure herein that the foregoing communications may
advantageously include XML documents wrapped in SSL technology.
[0173] The encryption/decryption process 1200 also provides for
encryption of documents or other data. Thus, in step 1235, a
requesting application or vendor may advantageously transmit to the
transaction engine 205 of the trust engine 110, a request for the
public key of the user. The requesting application or vendor makes
this request because the requesting application or vendor uses the
public key of the user, for example, to encrypt the session key
that will be used to encrypt the document or message. As mentioned
in the enrollment process 900, the transaction engine 205 stores a
copy of the digital certificate of the user, for example, in the
mass storage 225. Thus, in step 1240 of the encryption process
1200, the transaction engine 205 requests the digital certificate
of the user from the mass storage 225. In step 1245, the mass
storage 225 transmits the digital certificate corresponding to the
user, to the transaction engine 205. In step 1250, the transaction
engine 205 transmits the digital certificate to the requesting
application or vendor. According to one embodiment, the encryption
portion of the encryption process 1200 does not include the
authentication of a user. This is because the requesting vendor
needs only the public key of the user, and is not requesting any
sensitive data.
[0174] A skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosure herein
that if a particular user does not have a digital certificate, the
trust engine 110 may employ some or all of the enrollment process
900 in order to generate a digital certificate for that particular
user. Then, the trust engine 110 may initiate the
encryption/decryption process 1200 and thereby provide the
appropriate digital certificate. In addition, a skilled artisan
will recognize from the disclosure herein that steps 1220 and 1235
through 1250 of the encryption/decryption process 1200 may
advantageously employ some or all of the steps of the
interoperability process of FIG. 9B, thereby providing
interoperability between differing cryptographic systems that may,
for example, need to process the encryption.
[0175] FIG. 13 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a trust
engine system 1300 according to aspects of yet another embodiment
of the invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the trust engine system 1300
comprises a plurality of distinct trust engines 1305, 1310, 1315,
and 1320, respectively. To facilitate a more complete understanding
of the invention, FIG. 13 illustrates each trust engine, 1305,
1310, 1315, and 1320 as having a transaction engine, a depository,
and an authentication engine. However, a skilled artisan will
recognize that each transaction engine may advantageously comprise
some, a combination, or all of the elements and communication
channels disclosed with reference to FIGS. 1-8. For example, one
embodiment may advantageously include trust engines having one or
more transaction engines, depositories, and cryptographic servers
or any combinations thereof.
[0176] According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the
trust engines 1305, 1310, 1315 and 1320 are geographically
separated, such that, for example, the trust engine 1305 may reside
in a first location, the trust engine 1310 may reside in a second
location, the trust engine 1315 may reside in a third location, and
the trust engine 1320 may reside in a fourth location. The
foregoing geographic separation advantageously decreases system
response time while increasing the security of the overall trust
engine system 1300.
[0177] For example, when a user logs onto the cryptographic system
100, the user may be nearest the first location and may desire to
be authenticated. As described with reference to FIG. 10, to be
authenticated, the user provides current authentication data, such
as a biometric or the like, and the current authentication data is
compared to that user's enrollment authentication data. Therefore,
according to one example, the user advantageously provides current
authentication data to the geographically nearest trust engine
1305. The transaction engine 1321 of the trust engine 1305 then
forwards the current authentication data to the authentication
engine 1322 also residing at the first location. According to
another embodiment, the transaction engine 1321 forwards the
current authentication data to one or more of the authentication
engines of the trust engines 1310, 1315, or 1320.
[0178] The transaction engine 1321 also requests the assembly of
the enrollment authentication data from the depositories of, for
example, each of the trust engines, 1305 through 1320. According to
this embodiment, each depository provides its portion of the
enrollment authentication data to the authentication engine 1322 of
the trust engine 1305. The authentication engine 1322 then employs
the encrypted data portions from, for example, the first two
depositories to respond, and assembles the enrollment
authentication data into deciphered form. The authentication engine
1322 compares the enrollment authentication data with the current
authentication data and returns an authentication result to the
transaction engine 1321 of the trust engine 1305.
[0179] Based on the above, the trust engine system 1300 employs the
nearest one of a plurality of geographically separated trust
engines, 1305 through 1320, to perform the authentication process.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the routing of
information to the nearest transaction engine may advantageously be
performed at client-side applets executing on one or more of the
user system 105, vendor system 120, or certificate authority 115.
According to an alternative embodiment, a more sophisticated
decision process may be employed to select from the trust engines
1305 through 1320. For example, the decision may be based on the
availability, operability, speed of connections, load, performance,
geographic proximity, or a combination thereof, of a given trust
engine.
[0180] In this way, the trust engine system 1300 lowers its
response time while maintaining the security advantages associated
with geographically remote data storage facilities, such as those
discussed with reference to FIG. 7 where each data storage facility
stores randomized portions of sensitive data. For example, a
security compromise at, for example, the depository 1325 of the
trust engine 1315 does not necessarily compromise the sensitive
data of the trust engine system 1300. This is because the
depository 1325 contains only non-decipherable randomized data
that, without more, is entirely useless.
[0181] According to another embodiment, the trust engine system
1300 may advantageously include multiple cryptographic engines
arranged similar to the authentication engines. The cryptographic
engines may advantageously perform cryptographic functions such as
those disclosed with reference to FIGS. 1-8. According to yet
another embodiment, the trust engine system 1300 may advantageously
replace the multiple authentication engines with multiple
cryptographic engines, thereby performing cryptographic functions
such as those disclosed with reference to FIGS. 1-8. According to
yet another embodiment of the invention, the trust engine system
1300 may replace each multiple authentication engine with an engine
having some or all of the functionality of the authentication
engines, cryptographic engines, or both, as disclosed in the
foregoing,
[0182] Although the trust engine system 1300 is disclosed with
reference to its preferred and alternative embodiments, a skilled
artisan will recognize that the trust engine system 1300 may
comprise portions of trust engines 1305 through 1320. For example,
the trust engine system 1300 may include one or more transaction
engines, one or more depositories, one or more authentication
engines, or one or more cryptographic engines or combinations
thereof.
[0183] FIG. 14 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a trust
engine System 1400 according to aspects of yet another embodiment
of the invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the trust engine system 1400
includes multiple trust engines 1405, 1410, 1415 and 1420.
According to one embodiment, each of the trust engines 1405, 1410,
1415 and 1420, comprise some or all of the elements of trust engine
110 disclosed with reference to FIGS. 1-8. According to this
embodiment, when the client side applets of the user system 105,
the vendor system 120, or the certificate authority 115,
communicate with the trust engine system 1400, those communications
are sent to the IP address of each of the trust engines 1405
through 1420. Further, each transaction engine of each of the trust
engines, 1405, 1410, 1415, and 1420, behaves similar to the
transaction engine 1321 of the trust engine 1305 disclosed with
reference to FIG. 13. For example, during an authentication
process, each transaction engine of each of the trust engines 1405,
1410, 1415, and 1420 transmits the current authentication data to
their respective authentication engines and transmits a request to
assemble the randomized data stored in each of the depositories of
each of the trust engines 1405 through 1420. FIG. 14 does not
illustrate all of these communications; as such illustration would
become overly complex. Continuing with the authentication process,
each of the depositories then communicates its portion of the
randomized data to each of the authentication engines of the each
of the trust engines 1405 through 1420. Each of the authentication
engines of the each of the trust engines employs its comparator to
determine whether the current authentication data matches the
enrollment authentication data provided by the depositories of each
of the trust engines 1405 through 1420. According to this
embodiment, the result of the comparison by each of the
authentication engines is then transmitted to a redundancy module
of the other three trust engines. For example, the result of the
authentication engine from the trust engine 1405 is transmitted to
the redundancy modules of the trust engines 1410, 1415, and 1420.
Thus, the redundancy module of the trust engine 1405 likewise
receives the result of the authentication engines from the trust
engines 1410, 1415, and 1420.
[0184] FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of the redundancy module
of FIG. 14. The redundancy module comprises a comparator configured
to receive the authentication result from three authentication
engines and transmit that result to the transaction engine of the
fourth trust engine. The comparator compares the authentication
result form the three authentication engines, and if two of the
results agree, the comparator concludes that the authentication
result should match that of the two agreeing authentication
engines. This result is then transmitted back to the transaction
engine corresponding to the trust engine not associated with the
three authentication engines.
[0185] Based on the foregoing, the redundancy module determines an
authentication result from data received from authentication
engines that are preferably geographically remote from the trust
engine of that the redundancy module. By providing such redundancy
functionality, the trust engine system 1400 ensures that a
compromise of the authentication engine of one of the trust engines
1405 through 1420, is insufficient to compromise the authentication
result of the redundancy module of that particular trust engine. A
skilled artisan will recognize that redundancy module functionality
of the trust engine system 1400 may also be applied to the
cryptographic engine of each of the trust engines 1405 through
1420. However, such cryptographic engine communication was not
shown in FIG. 14 to avoid complexity. Moreover, a skilled artisan
will recognize a wide number of alternative authentication result
conflict resolution algorithms for the comparator of FIG. 15 are
suitable for use in the present invention.
[0186] According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the
trust engine system 1400 may advantageously employ the redundancy
module during cryptographic comparison steps. For example, some or
all of the foregoing redundancy module disclosure with reference to
FIGS. 14 and 15 may advantageously be implemented during a hash
comparison of documents provided by one or more parties during a
particular transaction.
[0187] Although the foregoing invention has been described in terms
of certain preferred and alternative embodiments, other embodiments
will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the
disclosure herein. For example, the trust engine 110 may issue
short-term certificates, where the private cryptographic key is
released to the user for a predetermined period of time. For
example, current certificate standards include a validity field
that can be set to expire after a predetermined amount of time.
Thus, the trust engine 110 may release a private key to a user
where the private key would be valid for, for example, 24 hours.
According to such an embodiment, the trust engine 110 may
advantageously issue a new cryptographic key pair to be associated
with a particular user and then release the private key of the new
cryptographic key pair. Then, once the private cryptographic key is
released, the trust engine 110 immediately expires any internal
valid use of such private key, as it is no longer securable by the
trust engine 110.
[0188] In addition, a skilled artisan will recognize that the
cryptographic system 100 or the trust engine 110 may include the
ability to recognize any type of devices, such as, but not limited
to, a laptop, a cell phone, a network, a biometric device or the
like. According to one embodiment, such recognition may come from
data supplied in the request for a particular service, such as, a
request for authentication leading to access or use, a request for
cryptographic functionality, or the like. According to one
embodiment, the foregoing request may include a unique device
identifier, such as, for example, a processor ID. Alternatively,
the request may include data in a particular recognizable data
format. For example, mobile and satellite phones often do not
include the processing power for full X509.v3 heavy encryption
certificates, and therefore do not request them. According to this
embodiment, the trust engine 110 may recognize the type of data
format presented, and respond only in kind.
[0189] In an additional aspect of the system described above,
context sensitive authentication can be provided using various
techniques as will be described below. Context sensitive
authentication, for example as shown in FIG. 16, provides the
possibility of evaluating not only the actual data which is sent by
the user when attempting to authenticate himself, but also the
circumstances surrounding the generation and delivery of that data.
Such techniques may also support transaction specific trust
arbitrage between the user and trust engine 110 or between the
vendor and trust engine 110, as will be described below.
[0190] As discussed above, authentication is the process of proving
that a user is who he says he is. Generally, authentication
requires demonstrating some fact to an authentication authority.
The trust engine 110 of the present invention represents the
authority to which a user must authenticate himself. The user must
demonstrate to the trust engine 110 that he is who he says he is by
either: knowing something that only the user should know
(knowledge-based authentication), having something that only the
user should have (token-based authentication), or by being
something that only the user should be (biometric-based
authentication).
[0191] Examples of knowledge-based authentication include without
limitation a password, PIN number, or lock combination. Examples of
token-based authentication include without limitation a house key,
a physical credit card, a driver's license, or a particular phone
number. Examples of biometric-based authentication include without
limitation a fingerprint, handwriting analysis, facial scan, hand
scan, ear scan, iris scan, vascular pattern, DNA, a voice analysis,
or a retinal scan.
[0192] Each type of authentication has particular advantages and
disadvantages, and each provides a different level of security. For
example, it is generally harder to create a false fingerprint that
matches someone else's than it is to overhear someone's password
and repeat it. Each type of authentication also requires a
different type of data to be known to the authenticating authority
in order to verify someone using that form of authentication.
[0193] As used herein, "authentication" will refer broadly to the
overall process of verifying someone's identity to be who he says
he is. An "authentication technique" will refer to a particular
type of authentication based upon a particular piece of knowledge,
physical token, or biometric reading. "Authentication data" refers
to information which is sent to or otherwise demonstrated to an
authentication authority in order to establish identity.
"Enrollment data" will refer to the data which is initially
submitted to an authentication authority in order to establish a
baseline for comparison with authentication data. An
"authentication instance" will refer to the data associated with an
attempt to authenticate by an authentication technique.
[0194] The internal protocols and communications involved in the
process of authenticating a user is described with reference to
FIG. 10 above. The part of this process within which the context
sensitive authentication takes place occurs within the comparison
step shown as step 1045 of FIG. 10. This step takes place within
the authentication engine 215 and involves assembling the
enrollment data 410 retrieved from the depository 210 and comparing
the authentication data provided by the user to it. One particular
embodiment of this process is shown in FIG. 16 and described
below.
[0195] The current authentication data provided by the user and the
enrollment data retrieved from the depository 210 are received by
the authentication engine 215 in step 1600 of FIG. 16. Both of
these sets of data may contain data which is related to separate
techniques of authentication. The authentication engine 215
separates the authentication data associated with each individual
authentication instance in step 1605. This is necessary so that the
authentication data is compared with the appropriate subset of the
enrollment data for the user (e.g. fingerprint authentication data
should be compared with fingerprint enrollment data, rather than
password enrollment data).
[0196] Generally, authenticating a user involves one or more
individual authentication instances, depending on which
authentication techniques are available to the user. These methods
are limited by the enrollment data which were provided by the user
during his enrollment process (if the user did not provide a
retinal scan when enrolling, he will not be able to authenticate
himself using a retinal scan), as well as the means which may be
currently available to the user (e.g. if the user does not have a
fingerprint reader at his current location, fingerprint
authentication will not be practical). In some cases, a single
authentication instance may be sufficient to authenticate a user;
however, in certain circumstances a combination of multiple
authentication instances may be used in order to more confidently
authenticate a user for a particular transaction.
[0197] Each authentication instance consists of data related to a
particular authentication technique (e.g. fingerprint, password,
smart card, etc.) and the circumstances which surround the capture
and delivery of the data for that particular technique. For
example, a particular instance of attempting to authenticate via
password will generate not only the data related to the password
itself, but also circumstantial data, known as "metadata", related
to that password attempt. This circumstantial data includes
information such as: the time at which the particular
authentication instance took place, the network address from which
the authentication information was delivered, as well as any other
information as is known to those of skill in the art which may be
determined about the origin of the authentication data (the type of
connection, the processor serial number, etc.).
[0198] In many cases, only a small amount of circumstantial
metadata will be available. For example, if the user is located on
a network which uses proxies or network address translation or
another technique which masks the address of the originating
computer, only the address of the proxy or router may be
determined. Similarly, in many cases information such as the
processor serial number will not be available because of either
limitations of the hardware or operating system being used,
disabling of such features by the operator of the system, or other
limitations of the connection between the user's system and the
trust engine 110.
[0199] As shown in FIG. 16, once the individual authentication
instances represented within the authentication data are extracted
and separated in step 1605, the authentication engine 215 evaluates
each instance for its reliability in indicating that the user is
who he claims to be. The reliability for a single authentication
instance will generally be determined based on several factors.
These may be grouped as factors relating to the reliability
associated with the authentication technique, which are evaluated
in step 1610, and factors relating to the reliability of the
particular authentication data provided, which are evaluated in
step 1815. The first group includes without limitation the inherent
reliability of the authentication technique being used, and the
reliability of the enrollment data being used with that method. The
second group includes without limitation the degree of match
between the enrollment data and the data provided with the
authentication instance, and the metadata associated with that
authentication instance. Each of these factors may vary
independently of the others.
[0200] The inherent reliability of an authentication technique is
based on how hard it is for an imposter to provide someone else's
correct data, as well as the overall error rates for the
authentication technique. For passwords and knowledge based
authentication methods, this reliability is often fairly low
because there is nothing that prevents someone from revealing their
password to another person and for that second person to use that
password. Even a more complex knowledge based system may have only
moderate reliability since knowledge may be transferred from person
to person fairly easily. Token based authentication, such as having
a proper smart card or using a particular terminal to perform the
authentication, is similarly of low reliability used by itself,
since there is no guarantee that the right person is in possession
of the proper token.
[0201] However, biometric techniques are more inherently reliable
because it is generally difficult to provide someone else with the
ability to use your fingerprints in a convenient manner, even
intentionally. Because subverting biometric authentication
techniques is more difficult, the inherent reliability of biometric
methods is generally higher than that of purely knowledge or token
based authentication techniques. However, even biometric techniques
may have some occasions in which a false acceptance or false
rejection is generated. These occurrences may be reflected by
differing reliabilities for different implementations of the same
biometric technique. For example, a fingerprint matching system
provided by one company may provide a higher reliability than one
provided by a different company because one uses higher quality
optics or a better scanning resolution or some other improvement
which reduces the occurrence of false acceptances or false
rejections.
[0202] Note that this reliability may be expressed in different
manners. The reliability is desirably expressed in some metric
which can be used by the heuristics 530 and algorithms of the
authentication engine 215 to calculate the confidence level of each
authentication. One preferred mode of expressing these
reliabilities is as a percentage or fraction. For instance,
fingerprints might be assigned an inherent reliability of 97%,
while passwords might only be assigned an inherent reliability of
50%. Those of skill in the art will recognize that these particular
values are merely exemplary and may vary between specific
implementations.
[0203] The second factor for which reliability must be assessed is
the reliability of the enrollment. This is part of the "graded
enrollment" process referred to above. This reliability factor
reflects the reliability of the identification provided during the
initial enrollment process. For instance, if the individual
initially enrolls in a manner where they physically produce
evidence of their identity to a notary or other public official,
and enrollment data is recorded at that time and notarized, the
data will be more reliable than data which is provided over a
network during enrollment and only vouched for by a digital
signature or other information which is not truly tied to the
individual.
[0204] Other enrollment techniques with varying levels of
reliability include without limitation: enrollment at a physical
office of the trust engine 110 operator; enrollment at a user's
place of employment; enrollment at a post office or passport
office; enrollment through an affiliated or trusted party to the
trust engine 110 operator; anonymous or pseudonymous enrollment in
which the enrolled identity is not yet identified with a particular
real individual, as well as such other means as are known in the
art.
[0205] These factors reflect the trust between the trust engine 110
and the source of identification provided during the enrollment
process. For instance, if enrollment is performed in association
with an employer during the initial process of providing evidence
of identity, this information may be considered extremely reliable
for purposes within the company, but may be trusted to a lesser
degree by a government agency, or by a competitor. Therefore, trust
engines operated by each of these other organizations may assign
different levels of reliability to this enrollment.
[0206] Similarly, additional data which is submitted across a
network, but which is authenticated by other trusted data provided
during a previous enrollment with the same trust engine 110 may be
considered as reliable as the original enrollment data was, even
though the latter data were submitted across an open network. In
such circumstances, a subsequent notarization will effectively
increase the level of reliability associated with the original
enrollment data. In this way for example, an anonymous or
pseudonymous enrollment may then be raised to a full enrollment by
demonstrating to some enrollment official the identity of the
individual matching the enrolled data.
[0207] The reliability factors discussed above are generally values
which may be determined in advance of any particular authentication
instance. This is because they are based upon the enrollment and
the technique, rather than the actual authentication. In one
embodiment, the step of generating reliability based upon these
factors involves looking up previously determined values for this
particular authentication technique and the enrollment data of the
user. In a further aspect of an advantageous embodiment of the
present invention, such reliabilities may be included with the
enrollment data itself. In this way, these factors are
automatically delivered to the authentication engine 215 along with
the enrollment data sent from the depository 210.
[0208] While these factors may generally be determined in advance
of any individual authentication instance, they still have an
effect on each authentication instance which uses that particular
technique of authentication for that user. Furthermore, although
the values may change over time (e.g. if the user re-enrolls in a
more reliable fashion), they are not dependent on the
authentication data itself. By contrast, the reliability factors
associated with a single specific instance's data may vary on each
occasion. These factors, as discussed below, must be evaluated for
each new authentication in order to generate reliability scores in
step 1815.
[0209] The reliability of the authentication data reflects the
match between the data provided by the user in a particular
authentication instance and the data provided during the
authentication enrollment. This is the fundamental question of
whether the authentication data matches the enrollment data for the
individual the user is claiming to be. Normally, when the data do
not match, the user is considered to not be successfully
authenticated, and the authentication fails. The manner in which
this is evaluated may change depending on the authentication
technique used. The comparison of such data is performed by the
comparator 515 function of the authentication engine 215 as shown
in FIG. 5.
[0210] For instance, matches of passwords are generally evaluated
in a binary fashion. In other words, a password is either a perfect
match, or a failed match. It is usually not desirable to accept as
even a partial match a password which is close to the correct
password if it is not exactly correct. Therefore, when evaluating a
password authentication, the reliability of the authentication
returned by the comparator 515 is typically either 100% (correct)
or 0% (wrong), with no possibility of intermediate values.
[0211] Similar rules to those for passwords are generally applied
to token based authentication methods, such as smart cards. This is
because having a smart card which has a similar identifier or which
is similar to the correct one, is still just as wrong as having any
other incorrect token. Therefore tokens tend also to be binary
authenticators: a user either has the right token, or he
doesn't.
[0212] However, certain types of authentication data, such as
questionnaires and biometrics, are generally not binary
authenticators. For example, a fingerprint may match a reference
fingerprint to varying degrees. To some extent, this may be due to
variations in the quality of the data captured either during the
initial enrollment or in subsequent authentications. (A fingerprint
may be smudged or a person may have a still healing scar or burn on
a particular finger.) In other instances the data may match less
than perfectly because the information itself is somewhat variable
and based upon pattern matching. (A voice analysis may seem close
but not quite right because of background noise, or the acoustics
of the environment in which the voice is recorded, or because the
person has a cold.) Finally, in situations where large amounts of
data are being compared, it may simply be the case that much of the
data matches well, but some doesn't. (A ten-question questionnaire
may have resulted in eight correct answers to personal questions,
but two incorrect answers.) For any of these reasons, the match
between the enrollment data and the data for a particular
authentication instance may be desirably assigned a partial match
value by the comparator 515. In this way, the fingerprint might be
said to be a 85% match, the voice print a 65% match, and the
questionnaire an 80% match, for example.
[0213] This measure (degree of match) produced by the comparator
515 is the factor representing the basic issue of whether an
authentication is correct or not. However, as discussed above, this
is only one of the factors which may be used in determining the
reliability of a given authentication instance. Note also that even
though a match to some partial degree may be determined, that
ultimately, it may be desirable to provide a binary result based
upon a partial match. In an alternate mode of operation, it is also
possible to treat partial matches as binary, i.e. either perfect
(100%) or failed (0%) matches, based upon whether or not the degree
of match passes a particular threshold level of match. Such a
process may be used to provide a simple pass/fail level of matching
for systems which would otherwise produce partial matches.
[0214] Another factor to be considered in evaluating the
reliability of a given authentication instance concerns the
circumstances under which the authentication data for this
particular instance are provided. As discussed above, the
circumstances refer to the metadata associated with a particular
authentication instance. This may include without limitation such
information as: the network address of the authenticator, to the
extent that it can be determined; the time of the authentication;
the mode of transmission of the authentication data (phone line,
cellular, network, etc.); and the serial number of the system of
the authenticator.
[0215] These factors can be used to produce a profile of the type
of authentication that is normally requested by the user. Then,
this information can be used to assess reliability in at least two
manners. One manner is to consider whether the user is requesting
authentication in a manner which is consistent with the normal
profile of authentication by this user. If the user normally makes
authentication requests from one network address during business
days (when she is at work) and from a different network address
during evenings or weekends (when she is at home), an
authentication which occurs from the home address during the
business day is less reliable because it is outside the normal
authentication profile. Similarly, if the user normally
authenticates using a fingerprint biometric and in the evenings, an
authentication which originates during the day using only a
password is less reliable.
[0216] An additional way in which the circumstantial metadata can
be used to evaluate the reliability of an instance of
authentication is to determine how much corroboration the
circumstance provides that the authenticator is the individual he
claims to be. For instance, if the authentication comes from a
system with a serial number known to be associated with the user,
this is a good circumstantial indicator that the user is who they
claim to be. Conversely, if the authentication is coming from a
network address which is known to be in Los Angeles when the user
is known to reside in London, this is an indication that this
authentication is less reliable based on its circumstances.
[0217] It is also possible that a cookie or other electronic data
may be placed upon the system being used by a user when they
interact with a vendor system or with the trust engine 110. This
data is written to the storage of the system of the user and may
contain an identification which may be read by a Web browser or
other software on the user system. If this data is allowed to
reside on the user system between sessions (a "persistent cookie"),
it may be sent with the authentication data as further evidence of
the past use of this system during authentication of a particular
user. In effect, the metadata of a given instance, particularly a
persistent cookie, may form a sort of token based authenticator
itself.
[0218] Once the appropriate reliability factors based on the
technique and data of the authentication instance are generated as
described above in steps 1610 and 1615 respectively, they are used
to produce an overall reliability for the authentication instance
provided in step 1620. One means of doing this is simply to express
each reliability as a percentage and then to multiply them
together.
[0219] For example, suppose the authentication data is being sent
in from a network address known to be the user's home computer
completely in accordance with the user's past authentication
profile (100%), and the technique being used is fingerprint
identification (97%), and the initial finger print data was
roistered through the user's employer with the trust engine 110
(90%), and the match between the authentication data and the
original fingerprint template in the enrollment data is very good
(99%). The overall reliability of this authentication instance
could then be calculated as the product of these reliabilities:
100%*97%*90%*99%-86.4% reliability.
[0220] This calculated reliability represents the reliability of
one single instance of authentication. The overall reliability of a
single authentication instance may also be calculated using
techniques which treat the different reliability factors
differently, for example by using formulas where different weights
are assigned to each reliability factor. Furthermore, those of
skill in the art will recognize that the actual values used may
represent values other than percentages and may use non-arithmetic
systems. One embodiment may include a module used by an
authentication requestor to set the weights for each factor and the
algorithms used in establishing the overall reliability of the
authentication instance.
[0221] The authentication engine 215 may use the above techniques
and variations thereof to determine the reliability of a single
authentication instance, indicated as step 1620. However, it may be
useful in many authentication situations for multiple
authentication instances to be provided at the same time. For
example, while attempting to authenticate himself using the system
of the present invention, a user may provide a user identification,
fingerprint authentication data, a smart card, and a password. In
such a case, three independent authentication instances are being
provided to the trust engine 110 for evaluation. Proceeding to step
1625, if the authentication engine 215 determines that the data
provided by the user includes more than one authentication
instance, then each instance in turn will be selected as shown in
step 1630 and evaluated as described above in steps 1610, 1615 and
1620.
[0222] Note that many of the reliability factors discussed may vary
from one of these instances to another. For instance, the inherent
reliability of these techniques is likely to be different, as well
as the degree of match provided between the authentication data and
the enrollment data. Furthermore, the user may have provided
enrollment data at different times and under different
circumstances for each of these techniques, providing different
enrollment reliabilities for each of these instances as well.
Finally, even though the circumstances under which the data for
each of these instances is being submitted is the same, the use of
such techniques may each fit the profile of the user differently,
and so may be assigned different circumstantial reliabilities. (For
example, the user may normally use their password and fingerprint,
but not their smart card.)
[0223] As a result, the final reliability for each of these
authentication instances may be different from One another.
However, by using multiple instances together, the overall
confidence level for the authentication will tend to increase.
[0224] Once the authentication engine has performed steps 1610
through 1620 for all of the authentication instances provided in
the authentication data, the reliability of each instance is used
in step 1635 to evaluate the overall authentication confidence
level. This process of combining the individual authentication
instance reliabilities into the authentication confidence level may
be modeled by various methods relating the individual reliabilities
produced, and may also address the particular interaction between
some of these authentication techniques. (For example, multiple
knowledge-based systems such as passwords may produce less
confidence than a single password and even a fairly weak biometric,
such as a basic voice analysis.)
[0225] One means in which the authentication engine 215 may combine
the reliabilities of multiple concurrent authentication instances
to generate a final confidence level is to multiply the
unreliability of each instance to arrive at a total unreliability.
The unreliability is generally the complementary percentage of the
reliability. For example, a technique which is 84% reliable is 16%
unreliable. The three authentication instances described above
(fingerprint, smart card, password) which produce reliabilities of
86%, 75%, and 72% would have corresponding unreliabilities of
(100-86) %, (100-75) % and (100-72) %, or 14%, 25%, and 28%,
respectively. By multiplying these unreliabilities, we get a
cumulative unreliability of 14%*25%*28%-0.98% unreliability, which
corresponds to a reliability of 99.02%.
[0226] In an additional mode of operation, additional factors and
heuristics 530 may be applied within the authentication engine 215
to account for the interdependence of various authentication
techniques. For example, if someone has unauthorized access to a
particular home computer, they probably have access to the phone
line at that address as well. Therefore, authenticating based on an
originating phone number as well as upon the serial number of the
authenticating system does not add much to the overall confidence
in the authentication. However, knowledge based authentication is
largely independent of token based authentication (i.e. if someone
steals your cellular phone or keys, they are no more likely to know
your PIN or password than if they hadn't).
[0227] Furthermore, different vendors or other authentication
requestors may wish to weigh different aspects of the
authentication differently. This may include the use of separate
weighing factors or algorithms used in calculating the reliability
of individual instances as well as the use of different means to
evaluate authentication events with multiple instances.
[0228] For instance, vendors for certain types of transactions, for
instance corporate email systems, may desire to authenticate
primarily based upon heuristics and other circumstantial data by
default. Therefore, they may apply high weights to factors related
to the metadata and other profile related information associated
with the circumstances surrounding authentication events. This
arrangement could be used to ease the burden on users during normal
operating hours, by not requiring more from the user than that he
be logged on to the correct machine during business hours. However,
another vendor may weigh authentications coming from a particular
technique most heavily, for instance fingerprint matching, because
of a policy decision that such a technique is most suited to
authentication for the particular vendor's purposes.
[0229] Such varying weights may be defined by the authentication
requestor in generating the authentication request and sent to the
trust engine 110 with the authentication request in one mode of
operation. Such options could also be set as preferences during an
initial enrollment process for the authentication requestor and
stored within the authentication engine in another mode of
operation.
[0230] Once the authentication engine 215 produces an
authentication confidence level for the authentication data
provided, this confidence level is used to complete the
authentication request in step 1640, and this information is
forwarded from the authentication engine 215 to the transaction
engine 205 for inclusion in a message to the authentication
requestor.
[0231] The process described above is merely exemplary, and those
of skill in the art will recognize that the steps need not be
performed in the order shown or that only certain of the steps are
desired to be performed, or that a variety of combinations of steps
may be desired. Furthermore, certain steps, such as the evaluation
of the reliability of each authentication instance provided, may be
carried out in parallel with one another if circumstances
permit.
[0232] In a further aspect of this invention, a method is provided
to accommodate conditions when the authentication confidence level
produced by the process described above fails to meet the required
trust level of the vendor or other party requiring the
authentication. In circumstances such as these where a gap exists
between the level of confidence provided and the level of trust
desired, the operator of the trust engine 110 is in a position to
provide opportunities for one or both parties to provide alternate
data or requirements in order to close this trust gap. This process
will be referred to as "trust arbitrage" herein.
[0233] Trust arbitrage may take place within a framework of
cryptographic authentication as described above with reference to
FIGS. 10 and 11. As shown therein, a vendor or other party will
request authentication of a particular user in association with a
particular transaction. In one circumstance, the vendor simply
requests an authentication, either positive or negative, and after
receiving appropriate data from the user, the trust engine 110 will
provide such a binary authentication. In circumstances such as
these, the degree of confidence required in order to secure a
positive authentication is determined based upon preferences set
within the trust engine 110.
[0234] However, it is also possible that the vendor may request a
particular level of trust in order to complete a particular
transaction. This required level may be included with the
authentication request (e.g. authenticate this user to 98%
confidence) or may be determined by the trust engine 110 based on
other factors associated with the transaction (i.e. authenticate
this user as appropriate for this transaction). One such factor
might be the economic value of the transaction. For transactions
which have greater economic value, a higher degree of trust may be
required. Similarly, for transactions with high degrees of risk a
high degree of trust may be required. Conversely, for transactions
which are either of low risk or of low value, lower trust levels
may be required by the vendor or other authentication
requestor.
[0235] The process of trust arbitrage occurs between the steps of
the trust engine 110 receiving the authentication data in step 1050
of FIG. 10 and the return of an authentication result to the vendor
in step 1055 of FIG. 10. Between these steps, the process which
leads to the evaluation of trust levels and the potential trust
arbitrage occurs as shown in FIG. 17. In circumstances where simple
binary authentication is performed, the process shown in FIG. 17
reduces to having the transaction engine 205 directly compare the
authentication data provided with the enrollment data for the
identified user as discussed above with reference to FIG. 10,
flagging any difference as a negative authentication.
[0236] As shown in FIG. 17, the first step after receiving the data
in step 1050 is for the transaction engine 205 to determine the
trust level which is required for a positive authentication for
this particular transaction in step 1710. This step may be
performed by one of several different methods. The required trust
level may be specified to the trust engine 110 by the
authentication requestor at the time when the authentication
request is made. The authentication requestor may also set a
preference in advance which is stored within the depository 210 or
other storage which is accessible by the transaction engine 205.
This preference may then be read and used each time an
authentication request is made by this authentication requestor.
The preference may also be associated with a particular user as a
security measure such that a particular level of trust is always
required in order to authenticate that user, the user preference
being stored in the depository 210 or other storage media
accessible by the transaction engine 205. The required level may
also be derived by the transaction engine 205 or authentication
engine 215 based upon information provided in the authentication
request, such as the value and risk level of the transaction to be
authenticated.
[0237] In one mode of operation, a policy management module or
other software which is used when generating the authentication
request is used to specify the required degree of trust for the
authentication of the transaction. This may be used to provide a
series of rules to follow when assigning the required level of
trust based upon the policies which are specified within the policy
management module. One advantageous mode of operation is for such a
module to be incorporated with the web server of a vendor in order
to appropriately determine required level of trust for transactions
initiated with the vendor's web server. In this way, transaction
requests from users may be assigned a required trust level in
accordance with the policies of the vendor and such information may
be forwarded to the trust engine 110 along with the authentication
request.
[0238] This required trust level correlates with the degree of
certainty that the vendor wants to have that the individual
authenticating is in fact who he identifies himself as. For
example, if the transaction is one where the vendor wants a fair
degree of certainty because goods are changing hands, the vendor
may require a trust level of 85%. For situation where the vendor is
merely authenticating the user to allow him to view members only
content or exercise privileges on a chat room, the downside risk
may be small enough that the vendor requires only a 60% trust
level. However, to enter into a production contract with a value of
tens of thousands of dollars, the vendor may require a trust level
of 99% or more.
[0239] This required trust level represents a metric to which the
user must authenticate himself in order to complete the
transaction. If the required trust level is 85% for example, the
user must provide authentication to the trust engine 110 sufficient
for the trust engine 110 to say with 85% confidence that the user
is who they say they are. It is the balance between this required
trust level and the authentication confidence level which produces
either a positive authentication (to the satisfaction of the
vendor) or a possibility of trust arbitrage.
[0240] As shown in FIG. 17, after the transaction engine 205
receives the required trust level, it compares in step 1720 the
required trust level to the authentication confidence level which
the authentication engine 215 calculated for the current
authentication (as discussed with reference to FIG. 16). If the
authentication confidence level is higher than the required trust
level for the transaction in step 1730, then the process moves to
step 1740 where a positive authentication for this transaction is
produced by the transaction engine 205. A message to this effect
will then be inserted into the authentication results and returned
to the vendor by the transaction engine 205 as shown in step 1055
(see FIG. 10).
[0241] However, if the authentication confidence level does not
fulfill the required trust level in step 1730, then a confidence
gap exists for the current authentication, and trust arbitrage is
conducted in step 1750. Trust arbitrage is described more
completely with reference to FIG. 18 below. This process as
described below takes place within the transaction engine 205 of
the trust engine 110. Because no authentication or other
cryptographic operations are needed to execute trust arbitrage
(other than those required for the SSL communication between the
transaction engine 205 and other components), the process may be
performed outside the authentication engine 215. However, as will
be discussed below, any reevaluation of authentication data or
other cryptographic or authentication events will require the
transaction engine 205 to resubmit the appropriate data to the
authentication engine 215. Those of skill in the art will recognize
that the trust arbitrage process could alternately be structured to
take place partially or entirely within the authentication engine
215 itself.
[0242] As mentioned above, trust arbitrage is a process where the
trust engine 110 mediates a negotiation between the vendor and user
in an attempt to secure a positive authentication where
appropriate. As shown in step 1805, the transaction engine 205
first determines whether or not the current situation is
appropriate for trust arbitrage. This may be determined based upon
the circumstances of the authentication, e.g. whether this
authentication has already been through multiple cycles of
arbitrage, as well as upon the preferences of either the vendor or
user, as will be discussed further below.
[0243] In such circumstances where arbitrage is not possible, the
process proceeds to step 1810 where the transaction engine 205
generates a negative authentication and then inserts it into the
authentication results which are sent to the vendor in step 1055
(see FIG. 10). One limit which may be advantageously used to
prevent authentications from pending indefinitely is to set a
time-out period from the initial authentication request. In this
way, any transaction which is not positively authenticated within
the time limit is denied further arbitrage and negatively
authenticated. Those of skill in the art will recognize that such a
time limit may vary depending upon the circumstances of the
transaction and the desires of the user and vendor. Limitations may
also be placed upon the number of attempts that may be made at
providing a successful authentication. Such limitations may be
handled by an attempt limiter 535 as shown in FIG. 5.
[0244] If arbitrage is not prohibited in step 1805, the transaction
engine 205 will then engage in negotiation with one or both of the
transacting parties. The transaction engine 205 may send a message
to the user requesting some form of additional authentication in
order to boost the authentication confidence level produced as
shown in step 1820. In the simplest form, this may simply indicates
that authentication was insufficient. A request to produce one or
more additional authentication instances to improve the overall
confidence level of the authentication may also be sent.
[0245] If the user provides some additional authentication
instances in step 1825, then the transaction engine 205 adds these
authentication instances to the authentication data for the
transaction and forwards it to the authentication engine 215 as
shown in step 1015 (see FIG. 10), and the authentication is
reevaluated based upon both the pre-existing authentication
instances for this transaction and the newly provided
authentication instances.
[0246] An additional type of authentication may be a request from
the trust engine 110 to make some form of person-to-person contact
between the trust engine 110 operator (or a trusted associate) and
the user, for example, by phone call. This phone call or other
non-computer authentication can be used to provide personal contact
with the individual and also to conduct some form of questionnaire
based authentication. This also may give the opportunity to verify
an originating telephone number and potentially a voice analysis of
the user when he calls in. Even if no additional authentication
data can be provided, the additional context associated with the
user's phone number may improve the reliability of the
authentication context. Any revised data or circumstances based
upon this phone call are fed into the trust engine 110 for use in
consideration of the authentication request.
[0247] Additionally, in step 1820 the trust engine 110 may provide
an opportunity for the user to purchase insurance, effectively
buying a more confident authentication. The operator of the trust
engine 110 may, at times, only want to make such an option
available if the confidence level of the authentication is above a
certain threshold to begin with. In effect, this user side
insurance is a way for the trust engine 110 to vouch for the user
when the authentication meets the normal required trust level of
the trust engine 110 for authentication, but does not meet the
required trust level of the vendor for this transaction. In this
way, the user may still successfully authenticate to a very high
level as may be required by the vendor, even though he only has
authentication instances which produce confidence sufficient for
the trust engine 110.
[0248] This function of the trust engine 110 allows the trust
engine 110 to vouch for someone who is authenticated to the
satisfaction of the trust engine 110, but not of the vendor. This
is analogous to the function performed by a notary in adding his
signature to a document in order to indicate to someone reading the
document at a later time that the person whose signature appears on
the document is in fact the person who signed it. The signature of
the notary testifies to the act of signing by the user. In the same
way, the trust engine is providing an indication that the person
transacting is who they say they are.
[0249] However, because the trust engine 110 is artificially
boosting the level of confidence provided by the user, there is a
greater risk to the trust engine 110 operator, since the user is
not actually meeting the required trust level of the vendor. The
cost of the insurance is designed to offset the risk of a false
positive authentication to the trust engine 110 (who may be
effectively notarizing the authentications of the user). The user
pays the trust engine 110 operator to take the risk of
authenticating to a higher level of confidence than has actually
been provided.
[0250] Because such an insurance system allows someone to
effectively buy a higher confidence rating from the trust engine
110, both vendors and users may wish to prevent the use of user
side insurance in certain transactions. Vendors may wish to limit
positive authentications to circumstances where they know that
actual authentication data supports the degree of confidence which
they require and so may indicate to the trust engine 110 that user
side insurance is not to be allowed. Similarly, to protect his
online identity, a user may wish to prevent the use of user side
insurance on his account, or may wish to limit its use to
situations where the authentication confidence level without the
insurance is higher than a certain limit. This may be used as a
security measure to prevent someone from overhearing a password or
stealing a smart card and using them to falsely authenticate to a
low level of confidence, and then purchasing insurance to produce a
very high level of (false) confidence. These factors may be
evaluated in determining whether user side insurance is
allowed.
[0251] If user purchases insurance in step 1840, then the
authentication confidence level is adjusted based upon the
insurance purchased in step 1845, and the authentication confidence
level and required trust level are again compared in step 1730 (see
FIG. 17). The process continues from there, and may lead to either
a positive authentication in step 1740 (see FIG. 17), or back into
the trust arbitrage process in step 1750 for either further
arbitrage (if allowed) or a negative authentication in step 1810 if
further arbitrage is prohibited.
[0252] In addition to sending a message to the user in step 1820,
the transaction engine 205 may also send a message to the vendor in
step 1830 which indicates that a pending authentication is
currently below the required trust level. The message may also
offer various options on how to proceed to the vendor. One of these
Options is to simply inform the vendor of what the current
authentication confidence level is and ask if the vendor wishes to
maintain their current unfulfilled required trust level. This may
be beneficial because in some cases, the vendor may have
independent means for authenticating the transaction or may have
been using a default set of requirements which generally result in
a higher required level being initially specified than is actually
needed for the particular transaction at hand.
[0253] For instance, it may be standard practice that all incoming
purchase order transactions with the vendor are expected to meet a
98% trust level. However, if an order was recently discussed by
phone between the vendor and a long-standing customer, and
immediately thereafter the transaction is authenticated, but only
to a 93% confidence level, the vendor may wish to simply lower the
acceptance threshold for this transaction, because the phone call
effectively provides additional authentication to the vendor. In
certain circumstances, the vendor may be willing to lower their
required trust level, but not all the way to the level of the
current authentication confidence. For instance, the vendor in the
above example might consider that the phone call prior to the order
might merit a 4% reduction in the degree of trust needed; however,
this is still greater than the 93% confidence produced by the
user.
[0254] If the vendor does adjust their required trust level in step
1835, then the authentication confidence level produced by the
authentication and the required trust level are compared in step
1730 (see FIG. 17). If the confidence level now exceeds the
required trust level, a positive authentication may be generated in
the transaction engine 205 in step 1740 (see FIG. 17). If not,
further arbitrage may be attempted as discussed above if it is
permitted.
[0255] In addition to requesting an adjustment to the required
trust level, the transaction engine 205 may also offer vendor side
insurance to the vendor requesting the authentication. This
insurance serves a similar purpose to that described above for the
user side insurance. Here, however, rather than the cost
corresponding to the risk being taken by the trust engine 110 in
authenticating above the actual authentication confidence level
produced, the cost of the insurance corresponds to the risk being
taken by the vendor in accepting a lower trust level in the
authentication.
[0256] Instead of just lowering their actual required trust level,
the vendor has the option of purchasing insurance to protect itself
from the additional risk associated with a lower level of trust in
the authentication of the user. As described above, it may be
advantageous for the vendor to only consider purchasing such
insurance to cover the trust gap in conditions where the existing
authentication is already above a certain threshold.
[0257] The availability of such vendor side insurance allows the
vendor the option to either: lower his trust requirement directly
at no additional cost to himself, bearing the risk of a false
authentication himself (based on the lower trust level required);
or, buying insurance for the trust gap between the authentication
confidence level and his requirement, with the trust engine 110
operator bearing the risk of the lower confidence level which has
been provided. By purchasing the insurance, the vendor effectively
keeps his high trust level requirement; because the risk of a false
authentication is shifted to the trust engine 110 operator.
[0258] If the vendor purchases insurance in step 1840, the
authentication confidence level and required trust levels are
compared in step 1730 (see FIG. 17), and the process continues as
described above.
[0259] Note that it is also possible that both the user and the
vendor respond to messages from the trust engine 110. Those of
skill in the art will recognize that there are multiple ways in
which such situations can be handled. One advantageous mode of
handling the possibility of multiple responses is simply to treat
the responses in a first-come, first-served manner. For example, if
the vendor responds with a lowered required trust level and
immediately thereafter the user also purchases insurance to raise
his authentication level, the authentication is first reevaluated
based upon the lowered trust requirement from the vendor. If the
authentication is now positive, the user's insurance purchase is
ignored. In another advantageous mode of operation, the user might
only be charged for the level of insurance required to meet the
new, lowered trust requirement of the vendor (if a trust gap
remained even with the lowered vendor trust requirement).
[0260] If no response from either party is received during the
trust arbitrage process at step 1850 within the time limit set for
the authentication, the arbitrage is reevaluated in step 1805. This
effectively begins the arbitrage process again. If the time limit
was final or other circumstances prevent further arbitrage in step
1805, a negative authentication is generated by the transaction
engine 205 in step 1810 and returned to the vendor in step 1055
(see FIG. 10). If not, new messages may be sent to the user and
vendor, and the process may be repeated as desired.
[0261] Note that for certain types of transactions, for instance,
digitally signing documents which are not part of a transaction,
there may not necessarily be a vendor or other third party;
therefore the transaction is primarily between the user and the
trust engine 110. In circumstances such as these, the trust engine
110 will have its own required trust level which must be satisfied
in order to generate a positive authentication. However, in such
circumstances, it will often not be desirable for the trust engine
110 to offer insurance to the user in order for him to raise the
confidence of his own signature.
[0262] The process described above and shown in FIGS. 16-18 may be
carried out using various communications modes as described above
with reference to the trust engine 110. For instance, the messages
may be web-based and sent using SSL connections between the trust
engine 110 and applets downloaded in real time to browsers running
on the user or vendor systems. In an alternate mode of operation,
certain dedicated applications may be in use by the user and vendor
which facilitate such arbitrage and insurance transactions. In
another alternate mode of operation, secure email operations may be
used to mediate the arbitrage described above, thereby allowing
deferred evaluations and batch processing of authentications. Those
of skill in the art will recognize that different communications
modes may be used as are appropriate for the circumstances and
authentication requirements of the vendor.
[0263] The following description with reference to FIG. 19
describes a sample transaction which integrates the various aspects
of the present invention as described above. This example
illustrates the overall process between a user and a vendor as
mediates by the trust engine 110. Although the various steps and
components as described in detail above may be used to carry out
the following transaction, the process illustrated focuses on the
interaction between the trust engine 110, user and vendor.
[0264] The transaction begins when the user, while viewing web
pages online, fills out an order form on the web site of the vendor
in step 1900. The user wishes to submit this order form to the
vendor, signed with his digital signature. In order to do this, the
user submits the order form with his request for a signature to the
trust engine 110 in step 1905. The user will also provide
authentication data which will be used as described above to
authenticate his identity.
[0265] In step 1910 the authentication data is compared to the
enrollment data by the trust engine 110 as discussed above, and if
a positive authentication is produced, the hash of the order form,
signed with the private key of the user, is forwarded to the vendor
along with the order form itself.
[0266] The vendor receives the signed form in step 1915, and then
the vendor will generate an invoice or other contract related to
the purchase to be made in step 1920. This contract is sent back to
the user with a request for a signature in step 1925. The vendor
also sends an authentication request for this contract transaction
to the trust engine 110 in step 1930 including a hash of the
contract which will be signed by both parties. To allow the
contract to be digitally signed by both parties, the vendor also
includes authentication data for itself so that the vendor's
signature upon the contract can later be verified if necessary.
[0267] As discussed above, the trust engine 110 then verifies the
authentication data provided by the vendor to confirm the vendor's
identity, and if the data produces a positive authentication in
step 1935, continues with step 1955 when the data is received from
the user. If the vendor's authentication data does not match the
enrollment data of the vendor to the desired degree, a message is
returned to the vendor requesting further authentication. Trust
arbitrage may be performed here if necessary, as described above,
in order for the vendor to successfully authenticate itself to the
trust engine 110.
[0268] When the user receives the contract in step 1940, he reviews
it, generates authentication data to sign it if it is acceptable in
step 1945, and then sends a hash of the contract and his
authentication data to the trust engine 110 in step 1950. The trust
engine 110 verifies the authentication data in step 1955 and if the
authentication is good, proceeds to process the contract as
described below. As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 17 and
18, trust arbitrage may be performed as appropriate to close any
trust gap which exists between the authentication confidence level
and the required authentication level for the transaction.
[0269] The trust engine 110 signs the hash of the contract with the
user's private key, and sends this signed hash to the vendor in
step 1960, signing the complete message on its own behalf, i.e.,
including a hash of the complete message (including the user's
signature) encrypted with the private key 510 of the trust engine
110. This message is received by the vendor in step 1965. The
message represents a signed contract (hash of contract encrypted
using user's private key) and a receipt from the trust engine 110
(the hash of the message including the signed contract, encrypted
using the trust engine 110's private key).
[0270] The trust engine 110 similarly prepares a hash of the
contract with the vendor's private key in step 1970, and forwards
this to the user, signed by the trust engine 110. In this way, the
user also receives a copy of the contract, signed by the vendor, as
well as a receipt, signed by the trust engine 110, for delivery of
the signed contract in step 1975.
[0271] In addition to the foregoing, an additional aspect of the
invention provides a cryptographic Service Provider Module (SPM)
which may be available to a client side application as a means to
access functions provided by the trust engine 110 described above.
One advantageous way to provide such a service is for the
cryptographic SPM is to mediate communications between a third
party Application Programming Interface (API) and a trust engine
110 which is accessible via a network or other remote connection. A
sample cryptographic SPM is described below with reference to FIG.
20.
[0272] For example, on a typical system, a number of API's are
available to programmers. Each API provides a set of function calls
which may be made by an application 2000 running upon the system.
Examples of API's which provide programming interfaces suitable for
cryptographic functions, authentication functions, and other
security function include the Cryptographic API (CAPI) 2010
provided by Microsoft with its Windows operating systems, and the
Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA), sponsored by IBM, Intel
and other members of the Open Group. CAPI will be used as an
exemplary security API in the discussion that follows. However, the
cryptographic SPM described could be used with CDSA or other
security API's as are known in the art.
[0273] This API is used by a user system 105 or vendor system 120
when a call is made for a cryptographic function. Included among
these functions may be requests associated with performing various
cryptographic operations, such as encrypting a document with a
particular key, signing a document, requesting a digital
certificate, verifying a signature upon a signed document, and such
other cryptographic functions as are described herein or known to
those of skill in the art.
[0274] Such cryptographic functions are normally performed locally
to the system upon which CAPI 2010 is located. This is because
generally the functions called require the use of either resources
of the local user system 105, such as a fingerprint reader, or
software functions which are programmed using libraries which are
executed on the local machine. Access to these local resources is
normally provided by one or more Service Provider Modules (SPM's)
2015, 2020 as referred to above which provide resources with which
the cryptographic functions are carried out. Such SPM's may include
software libraries 2015 to perform encrypting or decrypting
operations, or drivers and applications 2020 which are capable of
accessing specialized hardware 2025, such as biometric scanning
devices. In much the way that CAPI 2010 provides functions which
may be used by an application 2000 of the system 105, the SPM's
2015, 2020 provide CAPI with access to the lower level functions
and resources associated with the available services upon the
system.
[0275] In accordance with the invention, it is possible to provide
a cryptographic SPM 2030 which is capable of accessing the
cryptographic functions provided by the trust engine 110 and making
these functions available to an application 2000 through CAPI 2010.
Unlike embodiments where CAPI 2010 is only able to access resources
which are locally available through SPM's 2015, 2020, a
cryptographic SPM 2030 as described herein would be able to submit
requests for cryptographic operations to a remotely-located,
network-accessible trust engine 110 in order to perform the
operations desired.
[0276] For instance, if an application 2000 has a need for a
cryptographic operation, such as signing a document, the
application 2000 makes a function call to the appropriate CAPI 2010
function. CAPI 2010 in turn will execute this function, making use
of the resources which are made available to it by the SPM's 2015,
2020 and the cryptographic SPM 2030. In the case of a digital
signature function, the cryptographic SPM 2030 will generate an
appropriate request which will be sent to the trust engine 110
across the communication link 125.
[0277] The operations which occur between the cryptographic SPM
2030 and the trust engine 110 are the same operations that would be
possible between any other system and the trust engine 110.
However, these functions are effectively made available to a user
system 105 through CAPI 2010 such that they appear to be locally
available upon the user system 105 itself. However, unlike ordinary
SPM's 2015, 2020, the functions are being carried out on the remote
trust engine 110 and the results relayed to the cryptographic SPM
2030 in response to appropriate requests across the communication
link 125.
[0278] This cryptographic SPM 2030 makes a number of operations
available to the user system 105 or a vendor system 120 which might
not otherwise be available. These functions include without
limitation: encryption and decryption of documents; issuance of
digital certificates; digital signing of documents; verification of
digital signatures; and such other operations as will be apparent
to those of skill in the art.
[0279] In a separate embodiment, the present invention comprises a
complete system for performing the data securing methods of the
present invention on any data set. The computer system of this
embodiment comprises a data splitting module that comprises the
functionality shown in FIG. 8 and described herein. In one
embodiment of the present invention, the data splitting module,
sometimes referred to herein as a secure data parser, comprises a
parser program or software suite which comprises data splitting,
encryption and decryption, reconstitution or reassembly
functionality. This embodiment may further comprise a data storage
facility or multiple data storage facilities, as well. The data
splitting module, or secure data parser, comprises a cross-platform
software module suite which integrates within an electronic
infrastructure, or as an add-on to any application which requires
the ultimate security of its data elements. This parsing process
operates on any type of data set, and on any and all file types, or
in a database on any row, column or cell of data in that
database.
[0280] The parsing process of the present invention may, in one
embodiment, be designed in a modular tiered fashion, and any
encryption process is suitable for use in the process of the
present invention. The modular tiers of the parsing and splitting
process of the present invention may include, but are not limited
to, 1) cryptographic split, dispersed and securely stored in
multiple locations; 2) encrypt, cryptographically split, dispersed
and securely stored in multiple locations; 3) encrypt,
cryptographically split, encrypt each share, then dispersed and
securely stored in multiple locations; and 4) encrypt,
cryptographically split, encrypt each share with a different type
of encryption than was used in the first step, then dispersed and
securely stored in multiple locations.
[0281] The process comprises, in one embodiment, splitting of the
data according to the contents of a generated random number, or key
and performing the same cryptographic splitting of the key used in
the encryption of splitting of the data to be secured into two or
more portions, or shares, of parsed and split data, and in one
embodiment, preferably into four or more portions of parsed and
split data, encrypting all of the portions, then scattering and
storing these portions back into the database, or relocating them
to any named device, fixed or removable, depending on the
requestor's need for privacy and security. Alternatively, in
another embodiment, encryption may occur prior to the splitting of
the data set by the splitting module or secure data parser. The
original data processed as described in this embodiment is
encrypted and obfuscated and is secured. The dispersion of the
encrypted elements, if desired, can be virtually anywhere,
including, but not limited to, a single server or data storage
device, or among separate data storage facilities or devices.
Encryption key management in one embodiment may be included within
the software suite, or in another embodiment may be integrated into
an existing infrastructure or any other desired location.
[0282] A cryptographic split (cryptosplit) partitions the data into
N number of shares. The partitioning can be on any size unit of
data, including an individual bit, bits, bytes, kilobytes,
megabytes, or larger units, as well as any pattern or combination
of data unit sizes whether predetermined or randomly generated. The
units can also be of different sized, based on either a random or
predetermined set of values. This means the data can be viewed as a
sequence of these units. In this manner the size of the data units
themselves may render the data more secure, for example by using
one or more predetermined or randomly generated pattern, sequence
or combination of data unit sizes. The units are then distributed
(either randomly or by a predetermined set of values) into the N
shares. This distribution could also involve a shuffling of the
order of the units in the shares. It is readily apparent to those
of ordinary skill in the art that the distribution of the data
units into the shares may be performed according to a wide variety
of possible selections, including but not limited to size-fixed,
predetermined sizes, or one or more combination, pattern or
sequence of data unit sizes that are predetermined or randomly
generated.
[0283] One example of this cryptographic split process, or
cryptosplit, would be to consider the data to be 23 bytes in size,
with the data unit size chosen to be one byte, and with the number
of shares selected to be 4. Each byte would be distributed into one
of the 4 shares. Assuming a random distribution, a key would be
obtained to create a sequence of 23 random numbers (r1, r2, r3
through r23), each with a value between 1 and 4 corresponding to
the four shares. Each of the units of data (in this example 23
individual bytes of data) is associated with one of the 23 random
numbers corresponding to one of the four shares. The distribution
of the bytes of data into the four shares would occur by placing
the first byte of the data into share number r1, byte two into
share r2, byte three into share r3, through the 23.sup.rd byte of
data into share r23. It is readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art that a wide variety of other possible steps or
combination or sequence of steps, including the size of the data
units, may be used in the cryptosplit process of the present
invention, and the above example is a non-limiting description of
one process for cryptosplitting data. To recreate the original
data, the reverse operation would be performed.
[0284] In another embodiment of the cryptosplit process of the
present invention, an option for the cryptosplitting process is to
provide sufficient redundancy in the shares such that only a subset
of the shares are needed to reassemble or restore the data to its
original or useable form. As a non-limiting example, the
cryptosplit may be done as a "3 of 4" cryptosplit such that only
three of the four shares are necessary to reassemble or restore the
data to its original or useable form. This is also referred to as a
"M of N cryptosplit" wherein N is the total number of shares, and M
is at least one less than N. It is readily apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art that there are many possibilities for
creating this redundancy in the cryptosplitting process of the
present invention.
[0285] In one embodiment of the cryptosplitting process of the
present invention, each unit of data is stored in two shares, the
primary share and the backup share. Using the "3 of 4"
cryptosplitting process described above, any one share can be
missing, and this is sufficient to reassemble or restore the
original data with no missing data units since only three of the
total four shares are required. As described herein, a random
number is generated that corresponds to one of the shares. The
random number is associated with a data unit, and stored in the
corresponding share, based on a key. One key is used, in this
embodiment, to generate the primary and backup share random number.
As described herein for the cryptosplitting process of the present
invention, a set of random numbers (also referred to as primary
share numbers) from 0 to 3 are generated equal to the number of
data units. Then another set of random numbers is generated (also
referred to as backup share numbers) from 1 to 3 equal to the
number of data units. Each unit of data is then associated with a
primary share number and a backup share number. Alternatively, a
set of random numbers may be generated that is fewer than the
number of data units, and repeating the random number set, but this
may reduce the security of the sensitive data. The primary share
number is used to determine into which share the data unit is
stored. The backup share number is combined with the primary share
number to create a third share number between 0 and 3, and this
number is used to determine into which share the data unit is
stored. In this example, the equation to determine the third share
number is:
(primary share number+backup share number)MOD 4=third share
number.
[0286] In the embodiment described above where the primary share
number is between 0 and 3, and the backup share number is between 1
and 3 ensures that the third share number is different from the
primary share number. This results in the data unit being stored in
two different shares. It is readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art that there are many ways of performing redundant
cryptosplitting and non-redundant cryptosplitting in addition to
the embodiments disclosed herein. For example, the data units in
each share could be shuffled utilizing a different algorithm. This
data unit shuffling may be performed as the original data is split
into the data units, or after the data units are placed into the
shares, or after the share is full, for example.
[0287] The various cryptosplitting processes and data shuffling
processes described herein, and all other embodiments of the
cryptosplitting and data shuffling methods of the present invention
may be performed on data units of any size, including but not
limited to, as small as an individual bit, bits, bytes, kilobytes,
megabytes or larger.
[0288] An example of one embodiment of source code that would
perform the cryptosplitting process described herein is:
TABLE-US-00001 DATA [1:24] - array of bytes with the data to be
split SHARES[0:3; 1:24] - 2-dimensionalarray with each row
representing one of the shares RANDOM[1:24] - array random numbers
in the range of 0..3 S1 = 1; S2 = 1; S3 = 1; S4 = 1; For J = 1 to
24 do Begin IF RANDOM[J[ ==0 then Begin SHARES[1,S1] = DATA [J]; S1
= S1 + 1; End ELSE IF RANDOM[J[ ==1 then Begin SHARES[2,S2] = DATA
[J]; S2 = S2 + 1; END ELSE IF RANDOM[J[ ==2 then Begin Shares[3,S3]
= data [J]; S3 = S3 + 1; End Else begin Shares[4,S4] = data [J]; S4
= S4 + 1; End; END;
[0289] An example of one embodiment of source code that would
perform the cryptosplitting RAID process described herein is:
[0290] Generate two sets of numbers, PrimaryShare is 0 to 3,
BackupShare is 1 to 3. Then put each data unit into share
[primaryshare[1]] and shareRprimaryshare[1]+backupshare[1]) mod 4,
with the same process as in cryptosplitting described above. This
method will be scalable to any size N, where only N-1 shares are
necessary to restore the data.
[0291] The retrieval, recombining, reassembly or reconstituting of
the encrypted data elements may utilize any number of
authentication techniques, including, but not limited to,
biometrics, such as fingerprint recognition, facial scan, hand
scan, iris scan, retinal scan, ear scan, vascular pattern
recognition or DNA analysis. The data splitting and/or parser
modules of the present invention may be integrated into a wide
variety of infrastructure products or applications as desired.
[0292] Traditional encryption technologies known in the art rely on
one or more key used to encrypt the data and render it unusable
without the key. The data, however, remains whole and intact and
subject to attack. The secure data parser of the present invention,
in one embodiment, addresses this problem by performing a
cryptographic parsing and splitting of the encrypted file into two
or more portions or shares, and in another embodiment, preferably
four or more shares, adding another layer of encryption to each
share of the data, then storing the shares in different physical
and/or logical locations. When one or more data shares are
physically removed from the system, either by using a removable
device, such as a data storage device, or by placing the share
under another party's control, any possibility of compromise of
secured data is effectively removed.
[0293] An example of one embodiment of the secure data parser of
the present invention and an example of how it may be utilized is
shown in FIG. 21 and described below. However, it is readily
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the secure data
parser of the present invention may be utilized in a wide variety
of ways in addition to the non-limiting example below. As a
deployment option, and in one embodiment, the secure data parser
may be implemented with external session key management or secure
internal storage of session keys. Upon implementation, a Parser
Master Key will be generated which will be used for securing the
application and for encryption purposes. It should be also noted
that the incorporation of the Parser Master key in the resulting
secured data allows for a flexibility of sharing of secured data by
individuals within a workgroup, enterprise or extended
audience.
[0294] As shown in FIG. 21, this embodiment of the present
invention shows the steps of the process performed by the secure
data parser on data to store the session master key with the parsed
data:
[0295] 1. Generating a session master key and encrypt the data
using RS1 stream cipher.
[0296] 2. Separating the resulting encrypted data into four shares
or portions of parsed data according to the pattern of the session
master key.
[0297] 3. In this embodiment of the method, the session master key
will be stored along with the secured data shares in a data
depository. Separating the session master key according to the
pattern of the Parser Master Key and append the key data to the
encrypted parsed data.
[0298] 4. The resulting four shares of data will contain encrypted
portions of the original data and portions of the session master
key. Generate a stream cipher key for each of the four data
shares.
[0299] 5. Encrypting each share, then store the encryption keys in
different locations from the encrypted data portions or shares:
Share 1 gets Key 4, Share 2 gets Key 1, Share 3 gets Key 2, Share 4
gets Key 3.
[0300] To restore the original data format, the steps are
reversed.
[0301] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that certain steps of the methods described herein may be performed
in different order, or repeated multiple times, as desired. It is
also readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the portions
of the data may be handled differently from one another. For
example, multiple parsing steps may be performed on only one
portion of the parsed data. Each portion of parsed data may be
uniquely secured in any desirable way provided only that the data
may be reassembled, reconstituted, reformed, decrypted or restored
to its original or other usable form.
[0302] As shown in FIG. 22 and described herein, another embodiment
of the present invention comprises the steps of the process
performed by the secure data parser on data to store the session
master key data in one or more separate key management table:
[0303] 1. Generating a session master key and encrypt the data
using RS1 stream cipher.
[0304] 2. Separating the resulting encrypted data into four shares
or portions of parsed data according to the pattern of the session
master key.
[0305] 3. In this embodiment of the method of the present
invention, the session master key will be stored in a separate key
management table in a data depository. Generating a unique
transaction ID for this transaction. Storing the transaction ID and
session master key in a separate key management table. Separating
the transaction ID according to the pattern of the Parser Master
Key and append the data to the encrypted parsed or separated
data.
[0306] 4. The resulting four shares of data will contain encrypted
portions of the original data and portions of the transaction
ID.
[0307] 5. Generating a stream cipher key for each of the four data
shares.
[0308] 6. Encrypting each share, then store the encryption keys in
different locations from the encrypted data portions or shares:
Share 1 gets Key 4, Share 2 gets Key 1, Share 3 gets Key 2, Share 4
gets Key 3.
[0309] To restore the original data format, the steps are
reversed.
[0310] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that certain steps of the method described herein may be performed
in different order, or repeated multiple times, as desired. It is
also readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the portions
of the data may be handled differently from one another. For
example, multiple separating or parsing steps may be performed on
only one portion of the parsed data. Each portion of parsed data
may be uniquely secured in any desirable way provided only that the
data may be reassembled, reconstituted, reformed, decrypted or
restored to its original or other usable form.
[0311] As shown in FIG. 23, this embodiment of the present
invention shows the steps of the process performed by the secure
data parser on data to store the session master key with the parsed
data:
[0312] 1. Accessing the parser master key associated with the
authenticated user
[0313] 2. Generating a unique Session Master key
[0314] 3. Derive an Intermediary Key from an exclusive OR function
of the Parser Master Key and Session Master key
[0315] 4. Optional encryption of the data using an existing or new
encryption algorithm keyed with the Intermediary Key.
[0316] 5. Separating the resulting optionally encrypted data into
four shares or portions of parsed data according to the pattern of
the Intermediary key.
[0317] 6. In this embodiment of the method, the session master key
will be stored along with the secured data shares in a data
depository. Separating the session master key according to the
pattern of the Parser Master Key and append the key data to the
optionally encrypted parsed data shares.
[0318] 7. The resulting multiple shares of data will contain
optionally encrypted portions of the original data and portions of
the session master key.
[0319] 8. Optionally generate an encryption key for each of the
four data shares.
[0320] 9. Optionally encrypting each share with an existing or new
encryption algorithm, then store the encryption keys in different
locations from the encrypted data portions or shares: for example,
Share 1 gets Key 4, Share 2 gets Key 1, Share 3 gets Key 2, Share 4
gets Key 3.
[0321] To restore the original data format, the steps are
reversed.
[0322] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that certain steps of the methods described herein may be performed
in different order, or repeated multiple times, as desired. It is
also readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the portions
of the data may be handled differently from one another. For
example, multiple parsing steps may be performed on only one
portion of the parsed data. Each portion of parsed data may be
uniquely secured in any desirable way provided only that the data
may be reassembled, reconstituted, reformed, decrypted or restored
to its original or other usable form.
[0323] As shown in FIG. 24 and described herein, another embodiment
of the present invention comprises the steps of the process
performed by the secure data parser on data to store the session
master key data in one or more separate key management table:
[0324] 1. Accessing the Parser Master Key associated with the
authenticated user
[0325] 2. Generating a unique Session Master Key
[0326] 3. Derive an Intermediary Key from an exclusive OR function
of the Parser Master Key and Session Master key
[0327] 4. Optionally encrypt the data using an existing or new
encryption algorithm keyed with the Intermediary Key.
[0328] 5. Separating the resulting optionally encrypted data into
four shares or portions of parsed data according to the pattern of
the Intermediary Key.
[0329] 6. In this embodiment of the method of the present
invention, the session master key will be stored in a separate key
management table in a data depository. Generating a unique
transaction ID for this transaction. Storing the transaction ID and
session master key in a separate key management table or passing
the Session Master Key and transaction ID back to the calling
program for external management. Separating the transaction ID
according to the pattern of the Parser Master Key and append the
data to the optionally encrypted parsed or separated data.
[0330] 7. The resulting four shares of data will contain optionally
encrypted portions of the original data and portions of the
transaction ID.
[0331] 8. Optionally generate an encryption key for each of the
four data shares.
[0332] 9. Optionally encrypting each share, then store the
encryption keys in different locations from the encrypted data
portions or shares. For example: Share 1 gets Key 4, Share 2 gets
Key 1, Share 3 gets Key 2, Share 4 gets Key 3.
[0333] To restore the original data format, the steps are
reversed.
[0334] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that certain steps of the method described herein may be performed
in different order, or repeated multiple times, as desired. It is
also readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the portions
of the data may be handled differently from one another. For
example, multiple separating or parsing steps may be performed on
only one portion of the parsed data. Each portion of parsed data
may be uniquely secured in any desirable way provided only that the
data may be reassembled, reconstituted, reformed, decrypted or
restored to its original or other usable form.
[0335] A wide variety of encryption methodologies are suitable for
use in the methods of the present invention, as is readily apparent
to those skilled in the art. The One Time Pad algorithm, is often
considered one of the most secure encryption methods, and is
suitable for use in the method of the present invention. Using the
One Time Pad algorithm requires that a key be generated which is as
long as the data to be secured. The use of this method may be less
desirable in certain circumstances such as those resulting in the
generation and management of very long keys because of the size of
the data set to be secured. In the One-Time Pad (OTP) algorithm,
the simple exclusive-or function, XOR, is used. For two binary
streams x and y of the same length, x XOR y means the bitwise
exclusive-or of x and y.
[0336] At the bit level is generated:
0 XOR 0=0
0 XOR 1=1
1 XOR 0=1
1 XOR 1=0
[0337] An example of this process is described herein for an n-byte
secret, s, (or data set) to be split. The process will generate an
n-byte random value, a, and then set:
b=a XOR s.
[0338] Note that one can derive "s" via the equation:
s=a XOR b.
[0339] The values a and b are referred to as shares or portions and
are placed in separate depositories. Once the secret s is split
into two or more shares, it is discarded in a secure manner.
[0340] The secure data parser of the present invention may utilize
this function, performing multiple XOR functions incorporating
multiple distinct secret key values: K1, K2, K3, Kn, K5. At the
beginning of the operation, the data to be secured is passed
through the first encryption operation, secure data=data XOR secret
key 5:
S=D XOR K5
[0341] In order to securely store the resulting encrypted data in,
for example, four shares, S1, S2, S3, Sn, the data is parsed and
split into "n" segments, or shares, according to the value of K5.
This operation results in "n" pseudorandom shares of the original
encrypted data. Subsequent XOR functions may then be performed on
each share with the remaining secret key values, for example:
Secure data segment 1=encrypted data share 1 XOR secret key 1:
SD1=S1 XOR K1
SD2=S2 XOR K2
SD3=S3 XOR K3
SDn=Sn XOR Kn.
[0342] In one embodiment, it may not be desired to have any one
depository contain enough information to decrypt the information
held there, so the key required to decrypt the share is stored in a
different data depository:
Depository 1: SD1, Kn
Depository 2: SD2, K1
Depository 3: SD3, K2
Depository n: SDn, K3.
[0343] Additionally, appended to each share may be the information
required to retrieve the original session encryption key, K5.
Therefore, in the key management example described herein, the
original session master key is referenced by a transaction ID split
into "n" shares according to the contents of the installation
dependant Parser Master Key (TID1, TID2, TID3, TIDn):
Depository 1: SD1, Kn, TID1
Depository 2: SD2, K1, TID2
Depository 3: SD3, K2, TID3
Depository n: SDn, K3, TIDn.
[0344] In the incorporated session key example described herein,
the session master key is split into "n" shares according to the
contents of the installation dependant Parser Master Key (SK1, SK2,
SK3, SKn):
Depository 1: SD1, Kn, SK1
Depository 2: SD2, K1, SK2
Depository 3: SD3, K2, SK3
Depository n: SDn, K3, SKn.
[0345] Unless all four shares are retrieved, the data cannot be
reassembled according to this example. Even if all four shares are
captured, there is no possibility of reassembling or restoring the
original information without access to the session master key and
the Parser Master Key.
[0346] This example has described an embodiment of the method of
the present invention, and also describes, in another embodiment,
the algorithm used to place shares into depositories so that shares
from all depositories can be combined to form the secret
authentication material. The computations needed are very simple
and fast. However, with the One Time Pad (OTP) algorithm there may
be circumstances that cause it to be less desirable, such as a
large data set to be secured, because the key size is the same size
as the data to be stored. Therefore, there would be a need to store
and transmit about twice the amount of the original data which may
be less desirable under certain circumstances.
Stream Cipher RS1
[0347] The stream cipher RS1 splitting technique is very similar to
the OTP splitting technique described herein. Instead of an n-byte
random value, an n'=min(n, 16)-byte random value is generated and
used to key the RS1 Stream Cipher algorithm. The advantage of the
RS1 Stream Cipher algorithm is that a pseudorandom key is generated
from a much smaller seed number. The speed of execution of the RS1
Stream Cipher encryption is also rated at approximately 10 times
the speed of the well known in the art Triple DES encryption
without compromising security. The RS1 Stream Cipher algorithm is
well known in the art, and may be used to generate the keys used in
the XOR function. The RS1 Stream Cipher algorithm is interoperable
with other commercially available stream cipher algorithms, such as
the RC4.TM. stream cipher algorithm of RSA Security, Inc and is
suitable for use in the methods of the present invention.
[0348] Using the key notation above, K1 thru K5 are now an n' byte
random values and we set:
SD1=S1 XOR E(K1)
SD2=S2 XOR E(K2)
SD3=S3 XOR E(K3)
SDn=Sn XOR E(Kn)
where E(K1) thru E(Kn) are the first n' bytes of output from the
RS1 Stream Cipher algorithm keyed by K1 thru Kn. The shares are now
placed into data depositories as described herein.
[0349] In this stream cipher RS1 algorithm, the required
computations needed are nearly as simple and fast as the OTP
algorithm. The benefit in this example using the RS1 Stream Cipher
is that the system needs to store and transmit on average only
about 16 bytes more than the size of the original data to be
secured per share. When the size of the original data is more than
16 bytes, this RS1 algorithm is more efficient than the OTP
algorithm because it is simply shorter. It is readily apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of
encryption methods or algorithms are suitable for use in the
present invention, including, but not limited to RS1, OTP, RC4.TM.,
Triple DES and AES.
[0350] There are major advantages provided by the data security
methods and computer systems of the present invention over
traditional encryption methods. One advantage is the security
gained from moving shares of the data to different locations on one
or more data depositories or storage devices, that may be in
different logical, physical or geographical locations. When the
shares of data are split physically and under the control of
different personnel, for example, the possibility of compromising
the data is greatly reduced.
[0351] Another advantage provided by the methods and system of the
present invention is the combination of the steps of the method of
the present invention for securing data to provide a comprehensive
process of maintaining security of sensitive data. The data is
encrypted with a secure key and split into one or more shares, and
in one embodiment, four shares, according to the secure key. The
secure key is stored safely with a reference pointer which is
secured into four shares according to a secure key. The data shares
are then encrypted individually and the keys are stored safely with
different encrypted shares. When combined, the entire process for
securing data according to the methods disclosed herein becomes a
comprehensive package for data security.
[0352] The data secured according to the methods of the present
invention is readily retrievable and restored, reconstituted,
reassembled, decrypted, or otherwise returned into its original or
other suitable form for use. In order to restore the original data,
the following items may be utilized:
[0353] 1. All shares or portions of the data set.
[0354] 2. Knowledge of and ability to reproduce the process flow of
the method used to secure the data.
[0355] 3. Access to the session master key.
[0356] 4. Access to the Parser Master Key.
[0357] Therefore, it may be desirable to plan a secure installation
wherein at least one of the above elements may be physically
separated from the remaining components of the system (under the
control of a different system administrator for example).
[0358] Protection against a rogue application invoking the data
securing methods application may be enforced by use of the Parser
Master Key. A mutual authentication handshake between the secure
data parser and the application may be required in this embodiment
of the present invention prior to any action taken.
[0359] The security of the system dictates that there be no
"backdoor" method for recreation of the original data. For
installations where data recovery issues may arise, the secure data
parser can be enhanced to provide a mirror of the four shares and
session master key depository. Hardware options such as RAID
(redundant array of inexpensive disks, used to spread information
over several disks) and software options such as replication can
assist as well in the data recovery planning
Key Management
[0360] In one embodiment of the present invention, the data
securing method uses three sets of keys for an encryption
operation. Each set of keys may have individual key storage,
retrieval, security and recovery options, based on the
installation. The keys that may be used, include, but are not
limited to:
The Parser Master Key
[0361] This key is an individual key associated with the
installation of the secure data parser. It is installed on the
server on which the secure data parser has been deployed. There are
a variety of options suitable for securing this key including, but
not limited to, a smart card, separate hardware key store, standard
key stores, custom key stores or within a secured database table,
for example.
The Session Master Key
[0362] A Session Master Key may be generated each time data is
secured. The Session Master Key is used to encrypt the data prior
to the parsing and splitting operations. It may also be
incorporated (if the Session Master Key is not integrated into the
parsed data) as a means of parsing the encrypted data. The Session
Master Key may be secured in a variety of manners, including, but
not limited to, a standard key store, custom key store, separate
database table, or secured within the encrypted shares, for
example.
The Share Encryption Keys
[0363] For each share or portions of a data set that is created, an
individual Share Encryption Key may be generated to further encrypt
the shares. The Share Encryption Keys may be stored in different
shares than the share that was encrypted.
[0364] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that the data securing methods and computer system of the present
invention are widely applicable to any type of data in any setting
or environment. In addition to commercial applications conducted
over the Internet or between customers and vendors, the data
securing methods and computer systems of the present invention are
highly applicable to non-commercial or private settings or
environments. Any data set that is desired to be kept secure from
any unauthorized user may be secured using the methods and systems
described herein. For example, access to a particular database
within a company or organization may be advantageously restricted
to only selected users by employing the methods and systems of the
present invention for securing data. Another example is the
generation, modification or access to documents wherein it is
desired to restrict access or prevent unauthorized or accidental
access or disclosure outside a group of selected individuals,
computers or workstations. These and other examples of the ways in
which the methods and systems of data securing of the present
invention are applicable to any non-commercial or commercial
environment or setting for any setting, including, but not limited
to any organization, government agency or corporation.
[0365] In another embodiment of the present invention, the data
securing method uses three sets of keys for an encryption
operation. Each set of keys may have individual key storage,
retrieval, security and recovery options, based on the
installation. The keys that may be used, include, but are not
limited to:
The Parser Master Key
[0366] This key is an individual key associated with the
installation of the secure data parser. It is installed on the
server on which the secure data parser has been deployed. There are
a variety of options suitable for securing this key including, but
not limited to, a smart card, separate hardware key store, standard
key stores, custom key stores or within a secured database table,
for example.
The Session Master Key
[0367] A Session Master Key may be generated each time data is
secured. The Session Master Key is used in conjunction with the
Parser Master key to derive the Intermediary Key. The Session
Master Key may be secured in a variety of manners, including, but
not limited to, a standard key store, custom key store, separate
database table, or secured within the encrypted shares, for
example.
The Intermediary Key
[0368] An Intermediary Key may be generated each time data is
secured. The Intermediary Key is used to encrypt the data prior to
the parsing and splitting operation. It may also be incorporated as
a means of parsing the encrypted data.
The Share Encryption Keys
[0369] For each share or portions of a data set that is created, an
individual Share Encryption Key may be generated to further encrypt
the shares. The Share Encryption Keys may be stored in different
shares than the share that was encrypted.
[0370] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that the data securing methods and computer system of the present
invention are widely applicable to any type of data in any setting
or environment. In addition to commercial applications conducted
over the Internet or between customers and vendors, the data
securing methods and computer systems of the present invention are
highly applicable to non-commercial or private settings or
environments. Any data set that is desired to be kept secure from
any unauthorized user may be secured using the methods and systems
described herein. For example, access to a particular database
within a company or organization may be advantageously restricted
to only selected users by employing the methods and systems of the
present invention for securing data. Another example is the
generation, modification or access to documents wherein it is
desired to restrict access or prevent unauthorized or accidental
access or disclosure outside a group of selected individuals,
computers or workstations. These and other examples of the ways in
which the methods and systems of data securing of the present
invention are applicable to any non-commercial or commercial
environment or setting for any setting, including, but not limited
to any organization, government agency or corporation.
Workgroup, Project, Individual PC/Laptop or Cross Platform Data
Security
[0371] The data securing methods and computer systems of the
present invention are also useful in securing data by workgroup,
project, individual PC/Laptop and any other platform that is in use
in, for example, businesses, offices, government agencies, or any
setting in which sensitive data is created, handled or stored. The
present invention provides methods and computer systems to secure
data that is known to be sought after by organizations, such as the
U.S. Government, for implementation across the entire government
organization or between governments at a state or federal
level.
[0372] The data securing methods and computer systems of the
present invention provide the ability to not only parse and split
flat files but also data fields, sets and or table of any type.
Additionally, all forms of data are capable of being secured under
this process, including, but not limited to, text, video, images,
biometrics and voice data. Scalability, speed and data throughput
of the methods of securing data of the present invention are only
limited to the hardware the user has at their disposal.
[0373] In one embodiment of the present invention, the data
securing methods are utilized as described below in a workgroup
environment. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23 and described
below, the Workgroup Scale data securing method of the present
invention uses the private key management functionality of the
TrustEngine to store the user/group relationships and the
associated private keys (Parser Group Master Keys) necessary for a
group of users to share secure data. The method of the present
invention has the capability to secure data for an enterprise,
workgroup, or individual user, depending on how the Parser Master
Key was deployed.
[0374] In one embodiment, additional key management and user/group
management programs may be provided, enabling wide scale workgroup
implementation with a single point of administration and key
management. Key generation, management and revocation are handled
by the single maintenance program, which all become especially
important as the number of users increase. In another embodiment,
key management may also be set up across one or several different
system administrators, which may not allow any one person or group
to control data as needed. This allows for the management of
secured data to be obtained by roles, responsibilities, membership,
rights, etc., as defined by an organization, and the access to
secured data can be limited to just those who are permitted or
required to have access only to the portion they are working on,
while others, such as managers or executives, may have access to
all of the secured data. This embodiment allows for the sharing of
secured data among different groups within a company or
organization while at the same time only allowing certain selected
individuals, such as those with the authorized and predetermined
roles and responsibilities, to observe the data as a whole. In
addition, this embodiment of the methods and systems of the present
invention also allows for the sharing of data among, for example,
separate companies, or separate departments or divisions of
companies, or any separate organization departments, groups,
agencies, or offices, or the like, of any government or
organization or any kind, where some sharing is required, but not
any one party may be permitted to have access to all the data.
Particularly apparent examples of the need and utility for such a
method and system of the present invention are to allow sharing,
but maintain security, in between government areas, agencies and
offices, and between different divisions, departments or offices of
a large company, or any other organization, for example.
[0375] An example of the applicability of the methods of the
present invention on a smaller scale is as follows. A Parser Master
key is used as a serialization or branding of the secure data
parser to an organization. As the scale of use of the Parser Master
key is reduced from the whole enterprise to a smaller workgroup,
the data securing methods described herein are used to share files
within groups of users.
[0376] In the example shown in FIG. 25 and described below, there
are six users defined along with their title or role within the
organization. The side bar represents five possible groups that the
users can belong to according to their role. The arrow represents
membership by the user in one or more of the groups.
[0377] When configuring the secure data parser for use in this
example, the system administrator accesses the user and group
information from the operating system by a maintenance program.
This maintenance program generates and assigns Parser Group Master
Keys to users based on their membership in groups.
[0378] In this example, there are three members in the Senior Staff
group. For this group, the actions would be:
[0379] 1. Access Parser Group Master Key for the Senior Staff group
(generate a key if not available);
[0380] 2. Generate a digital certificate associating CEO with the
Senior Staff group;
[0381] 3. Generate a digital certificate associating CFO with the
Senior Staff group;
[0382] 4. Generate a digital certificate associating Vice
President, Marketing with the Senior Staff group.
[0383] The same set of actions would be done for each group, and
each member within each group. When the maintenance program is
complete, the Parser Group Master Key becomes a shared credential
for each member of the group. Revocation of the assigned digital
certificate may be done automatically when a user is removed from a
group through the maintenance program without affecting the
remaining members of the group.
[0384] Once the shared credentials have been defined, the parsing
and splitting process remains the same. When a file, document or
data element is to be secured, the user is prompted for the target
group to be used when securing the data. The resulting secured data
is only accessible by other members of the target group. This
functionality of the methods and systems of the present invention
may be used with any other computer system or software platform,
any may be, for example, integrated into existing application
programs or used standalone for file security.
[0385] It is readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
that any one or combination of encryption algorithms are suitable
for use in the methods and systems of the present invention. For
example, the encryption steps may, in one embodiment, be repeated
to produce a multi-layered encryption scheme. In addition, a
different encryption algorithm, or combination of encryption
algorithms, may be used in repeat encryption steps such that
different encryption algorithms are applied to the different layers
of the multi-layered encryption scheme. As such, the encryption
scheme itself may become a component of the methods of the present
invention for securing sensitive data from unauthorized use or
access.
[0386] The secure data parser may include as an internal component,
as an external component, or as both an error-checking component.
For example, in one suitable approach, as portions of data are
created using the secure data parser in accordance with the present
invention, to assure the integrity of the data within a portion, a
hash value is taken at preset intervals within the portion and is
appended to the end of the interval. The hash value is a
predictable and reproducible numeric representation of the data. If
any bit within the data changes, the hash value would be different.
A scanning module (either as a stand-alone component external to
the secure data parser or as an internal component) may then scan
the portions of data generated by the secure data parser. Each
portion of data (or alternatively, less than all portions of data
according to some interval or by a random or pseudo-random
sampling) is compared to the appended hash value or values and an
action may be taken. This action may include a report of values
that match and do not match, an alert for values that do not match,
or invoking of some external or internal program to trigger a
recovery of the data. For example, recovery of the data could be
performed by invoking a recovery module based on the concept that
fewer than all portions may be needed to generate original data in
accordance with the present invention.
[0387] Any other suitable integrity checking may be implemented
using any suitable integrity information appended anywhere in all
or a subset of data portions. Integrity information may include any
suitable information that can be used to determine the integrity of
data portions. Examples of integrity information may include hash
values computed based on any suitable parameter (e.g., based on
respective data portions), digital signature information, message
authentication code (MAC) information, any other suitable
information, or any combination thereof.
[0388] The secure data parser of the present invention may be used
in any suitable application. Namely, the secure data parser
described herein has a variety of applications in different areas
of computing and technology. Several such areas are discussed
below. It will be understood that these are merely illustrative in
nature and that any other suitable applications may make use of the
secure data parser. It will further be understood that the examples
described are merely illustrative embodiments that may be modified
in any suitable way in order to satisfy any suitable desires. For
example, parsing and splitting may be based on any suitable units,
such as by bits, by bytes, by kilobytes, by megabytes, by any
combination thereof, or by any other suitable unit.
[0389] The secure data parser of the present invention may be used
to implement secure physical tokens, whereby data stored in a
physical token may be required in order to access additional data
stored in another storage area. In one suitable approach, a
physical token, such as a compact USB flash drive, a floppy disk,
an optical disk, a smart card, or any other suitable physical
token, may be used to store one of at least two portions of parsed
data in accordance with the present invention. In order to access
the original data, the USB flash drive would need to be accessed.
Thus, a personal computer holding one portion of parsed data would
need to have the USB flash drive, having the other portion of
parsed data, attached before the original data can be accessed.
FIG. 26 illustrates this application. Storage area 2500 includes a
portion of parsed data 2502. Physical token 2504, having a portion
of parsed data 2506 would need to be coupled to storage area 2500
using any suitable communications interface 2508 (e.g., USB,
serial, parallel, Bluetooth, IR, IEEE 1394, Ethernet, or any other
suitable communications interface) in order to access the original
data. This is useful in a situation where, for example, sensitive
data on a computer is left alone and subject to unauthorized access
attempts. By removing the physical token (e.g., the USB flash
drive), the sensitive data is inaccessible. It will be understood
that any other suitable approach for using physical tokens may be
used.
[0390] The secure data parser of the present invention may be used
to implement a secure authentication system whereby user enrollment
data (e.g., passwords, private encryption keys, fingerprint
templates, biometric data or any other suitable user enrollment
data) is parsed and split using the secure data parser. The user
enrollment data may be parsed and split whereby one or more
portions are stored on a smart card, a government Common Access
Card, any suitable physical storage device (e.g., magnetic or
optical disk, USB key drive, etc.), or any other suitable device.
One or more other portions of the parsed user enrollment data may
be stored in the system performing the authentication. This
provides an added level of security to the authentication process
(e.g., in addition to the biometric authentication information
obtained from the biometric source, the user enrollment data must
also be obtained via the appropriate parsed and split data
portion).
[0391] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
integrated into any suitable existing system in order to provide
the use of its functionality in each system's respective
environment. FIG. 27 shows a block diagram of an illustrative
system 2600, which may include software, hardware, or both for
implementing any suitable application. System 2600 may be an
existing system in which secure data parser 2602 may be retrofitted
as an integrated component. Alternatively, secure data parser 2602
may be integrated into any suitable system 2600 from, for example,
its earliest design stage. Secure data parser 2600 may be
integrated at any suitable level of system 2600. For example,
secure data parser 2602 may be integrated into system 2600 at a
sufficiently back-end level such that the presence of secure data
parser 2602 may be substantially transparent to an end user of
system 2600. Secure data parser 2602 may be used for parsing and
splitting data among one or more storage devices 2604 in accordance
with the present invention. Some illustrative examples of systems
having the secure data parser integrated therein are discussed
below.
[0392] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
integrated into an operating system kernel (e.g., Linux, Unix, or
any other suitable commercial or proprietary operating system).
This integration may be used to protect data at the device level
whereby, for example, data that would ordinarily be stored in one
or more devices is separated into a certain number of portions by
the secure data parser integrated into the operating system and
stored among the one or more devices. When original data is
attempted to be accessed, the appropriate software, also integrated
into the operating system, may recombine the parsed data portions
into the original data in a way that may be transparent to the end
user.
[0393] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
integrated into a volume manager or any other suitable component of
a storage system to protect local and networked data storage across
any or all supported platforms. For example, with the secure data
parser integrated, a storage system may make use of the redundancy
offered by the secure data parser (i.e., which is used to implement
the feature of needing fewer than all separated portions of data in
order to reconstruct the original data) to protect against data
loss. The secure data parser also allows all data written to
storage devices, whether using redundancy or not, to be in the form
of multiple portions that are generated according to the parsing of
the present invention. When original data is attempted to be
accessed, the appropriate software, also integrated into the volume
manager or other suitable component of the storage system, may
recombine the parsed data portions into the original data in a way
that may be transparent to the end user.
[0394] In one suitable approach, the secure data parser of the
present invention may be integrated into a RAID controller (as
either hardware or software). This allows for the secure storage of
data to multiple drives while maintaining fault tolerance in case
of drive failure.
[0395] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
integrated into a database in order to, for example, protect
sensitive table information. For example, in one suitable approach,
data associated with particular cells of a database table (e.g.,
individual cells, one or more particular columns, one or more
particular rows, any combination thereof, or an entire database
table) may be parsed and separated according to the present
invention (e.g., where the different portions are stored on one or
more storage devices at one or more locations or on a single
storage device). Access to recombine the portions in order to view
the original data may be granted by traditional authentication
methods (e.g., username and password query).
[0396] The secure parser of the present invention may be integrated
in any suitable system that involves data in motion (i.e., transfer
of data from one location to another). Such systems include, for
example, email, streaming data broadcasts, and wireless (e.g.,
WiFi) communications. With respect to email, in one suitable
approach, the secure parser may be used to parse outgoing messages
(i.e., containing text, binary data, or both (e.g., files attached
to an email message)) and sending the different portions of the
parsed data along different paths thus creating multiple streams of
data. If any one of these streams of data is compromised, the
original message remains secure because the system may require that
more than one of the portions be combined, in accordance with the
present invention, in order to generate the original data. In
another suitable approach, the different portions of data may be
communicated along one path sequentially so that if one portion is
obtained, it may not be sufficient to generate the original data.
The different portions arrive at the intended recipient's location
and may be combined to generate the original data in accordance
with the present invention.
[0397] FIGS. 28 and 29 are illustrative block diagrams of such
email systems. FIG. 28 shows a sender system 2700, which may
include any suitable hardware, such as a computer terminal,
personal computer, handheld device (e.g., PDA, Blackberry),
cellular telephone, computer network, any other suitable hardware,
or any combination thereof. Sender system 2700 is used to generate
and/or store a message 2704, which may be, for example, an email
message, a binary data file (e.g., graphics, voice, video, etc.),
or both. Message 2704 is parsed and split by secure data parser
2702 in accordance with the present invention. The resultant data
portions may be communicated across one or more separate
communications paths 2706 over network 2708 (e.g., the Internet, an
intranet, a LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth, any other suitable hard-wired or
wireless communications means, or any combination thereof) to
recipient system 2710. The data portions may be communicated
parallel in time or alternatively, according to any suitable time
delay between the communication of the different data portions.
Recipient system 2710 may be any suitable hardware as described
above with respect to sender system 2700. The separate data
portions carried along communications paths 2706 are recombined at
recipient system 2710 to generate the original message or data in
accordance with the present invention.
[0398] FIG. 29 shows a sender system 2800, which may include any
suitable hardware, such as a computer terminal, personal computer,
handheld device (e.g., PDA), cellular telephone, computer network,
any other suitable hardware, or any combination thereof. Sender
system 2800 is used to generate and/or store a message 2804, which
may be, for example, an email message, a binary data file (e.g.,
graphics, voice, video, etc.), or both. Message 2804 is parsed and
split by secure data parser 2802 in accordance with the present
invention. The resultant data portions may be communicated across a
single communications paths 2806 over network 2808 (e.g., the
Internet, an intranet, a LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth, any other suitable
communications means, or any combination thereof) to recipient
system 2810. The data portions may be communicated serially across
communications path 2806 with respect to one another. Recipient
system 2810 may be any suitable hardware as described above with
respect to sender system 2800. The separate data portions carried
along communications path 2806 are recombined at recipient system
2810 to generate the original message or data in accordance with
the present invention.
[0399] It will be understood that the arrangement of FIGS. 28 and
29 are merely illustrative. Any other suitable arrangement may be
used. For example, in another suitable approach, the features of
the systems of FIGS. 28 and 29 may be combined whereby the
multi-path approach of FIG. 28 is used and in which one or more of
communications paths 2706 are used to carry more than one portion
of data as communications path 2806 does in the context of FIG.
29.
[0400] The secure data parser may be integrated at any suitable
level of a data-in motion system. For example, in the context of an
email system, the secure parser may be integrated at the
user-interface level (e.g., into Microsoft.RTM. Outlook), in which
case the user may have control over the use of the secure data
parser features when using email. Alternatively, the secure parser
may be implemented in a back-end component such as at the exchange
server, in which case messages may be automatically parsed, split,
and communicated along different paths in accordance with the
present invention without any user intervention.
[0401] Similarly, in the case of streaming broadcasts of data
(e.g., audio, video), the outgoing data may be parsed and separated
into multiple streams each containing a portion of the parsed data.
The multiple streams may be transmitted along one or more paths and
recombined at the recipient's location in accordance with the
present invention. One of the benefits of this approach is that it
avoids the relatively large overhead associated with traditional
encryption of data followed by transmission of the encrypted data
over a single communications channel. The secure parser of the
present invention allows data in motion to be sent in multiple
parallel streams, increasing speed and efficiency.
[0402] It will be understand that the secure data parser may be
integrated for protection of and fault tolerance of any type of
data in motion through any transport medium, including, for
example, wired, wireless, or physical. For example, voice over
Internet protocol (VoIP) applications may make use of the secure
data parser of the present invention. Wireless or wired data
transport from or to any suitable personal digital assistant (PDA)
devices such as Blackberries and SmartPhones may be secured using
the secure data parser of the present invention. Communications
using wireless 802.11 protocols for peer to peer and hub based
wireless networks, satellite communications, point to point
wireless communications, Internet client/server communications, or
any other suitable communications may involve the data in motion
capabilities of the secure data parser in accordance with the
present invention. Data communication between computer peripheral
device (e.g., printer, scanner, monitor, keyboard, network router,
biometric authentication device (e.g., fingerprint scanner), or any
other suitable peripheral device) between a computer and a computer
peripheral device, between a computer peripheral device and any
other suitable device, or any combination thereof may make use of
the data in motion features of the present invention.
[0403] The data in motion features of the present invention may
also apply to physical transportation of secure shares using for
example, separate routes, vehicles, methods, any other suitable
physical transportation, or any combination thereof. For example,
physical transportation of data may take place on digital/magnetic
tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, physical tokens, USB drives,
removable hard drives, consumer electronic devices with flash
memory (e.g., Apple IPODs or other MP3 players), flash memory, any
other suitable medium used for transporting data, or any
combination thereof.
[0404] The secure data parser of the present invention may provide
security with the ability for disaster recovery. According to the
present invention, fewer than all portions of the separated data
generated by the secure data parser may be necessary in order to
retrieve the original data. That is, out of m portions stored, n
may be the minimum number of these m portions necessary to retrieve
the original data, where n <=m. For example, if each of four
portions is stored in a different physical location relative to the
other three portions, then, if n=2 in this example, two of the
locations may be compromised whereby data is destroyed or
inaccessible, and the original data may still be retrieved from the
portions in the other two locations. Any suitable value for n or m
may be used.
[0405] In addition, the n of m feature of the present invention may
be used to create a "two man rule" whereby in order to avoid
entrusting a single individual or any other entity with full access
to what may be sensitive data, two or more distinct entities, each
with a portion of the separated data parsed by the secure parser of
the present invention may need to agree to put their portions
together in order to retrieve the original data.
[0406] The secure data parser of the present invention may be used
to provide a group of entities with a group-wide key that allows
the group members to access particular information authorized to be
accessed by that particular group. The group key may be one of the
data portions generated by the secure parser in accordance with the
present invention that may be required to be combined with another
portion centrally stored, for example in order to retrieve the
information sought. This feature allows for, for example, secure
collaboration among a group. It may be applied in for example,
dedicated networks, virtual private networks, intranets, or any
other suitable network.
[0407] Specific applications of this use of the secure parser
include, for example, coalition information sharing in which, for
example, multi-national friendly government forces are given the
capability to communicate operational and otherwise sensitive data
on a security level authorized to each respective country over a
single network or a dual network (i.e., as compared to the many
networks involving relatively substantial manual processes
currently used). This capability is also applicable for companies
or other organizations in which information needed to be known by
one or more specific individuals (within the organization or
without) may be communicated over a single network without the need
to worry about unauthorized individuals viewing the
information.
[0408] Another specific application includes a multi-level security
hierarchy for government systems. That is, the secure parser of the
present invention may provide for the ability to operate a
government system at different levels of classified information
(e.g., unclassified, classified, secret, top secret) using a single
network. If desired, more networks may be used (e.g., a separate
network for top secret), but the present invention allows for
substantially fewer than current arrangement in which a separate
network is used for each level of classification.
[0409] It will be understood that any combination of the above
described applications of the secure parser of the present
invention may be used. For example, the group key application can
be used together with the data in motion security application
(i.e., whereby data that is communicated over a network can only be
accessed by a member of the respective group and where, while the
data is in motion, it is split among multiple paths (or sent in
sequential portions) in accordance with the present invention).
[0410] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
integrated into any middleware application to enable applications
to securely store data to different database products or to
different devices without modification to either the applications
or the database. Middleware is a general term for any product that
allows two separate and already existing programs to communicate.
For example, in one suitable approach, middleware having the secure
data parser integrated, may be used to allow programs written for a
particular database to communicate with other databases without
custom coding.
[0411] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
implemented having any combination of any suitable capabilities,
such as those discussed herein. In some embodiments of the present
invention, for example, the secure data parser may be implemented
having only certain capabilities whereas other capabilities may be
obtained through the use of external software, hardware, or both
interfaced either directly or indirectly with the secure data
parser.
[0412] FIG. 30, for example, shows an illustrative implementation
of the secure data parser as secure data parser 3000. Secure data
parser 3000 may be implemented with very few built-in capabilities.
As illustrated, secure data parser 3000 may include built-in
capabilities for parsing and splitting data into portions (also
referred to herein as shares) of data using module 3002 in
accordance with the present invention. Secure data parser 3000 may
also include built in capabilities for performing redundancy in
order to be able to implement, for example, the m of n feature
described above (i.e., recreating the original data using fewer
than all shares of parsed and split data) using module 3004. Secure
data parser 3000 may also include share distribution capabilities
using module 3006 for placing the shares of data into buffers from
which they are sent for communication to a remote location, for
storage, etc. in accordance with the present invention. It will be
understood that any other suitable capabilities may be built into
secure data parser 3000.
[0413] Assembled data buffer 3008 may be any suitable memory used
to store the original data (although not necessarily in its
original form) that will be parsed and split by secure data parser
3000. In a splitting operation, assembled data buffer 3008 provides
input to secure data parser 3008. In a restore operation, assembled
data buffer 3008 may be used to store the output of secure data
parser 3000.
[0414] Split shares buffers 3010 may be one or more memory modules
that may be used to store the multiple shares of data that resulted
from the parsing and splitting of original data. In a splitting
operation, split shares buffers 3010 hold the output of the secure
data parser. In a restore operation, split shares buffers hold the
input to secure data parser 3000.
[0415] It will be understood that any other suitable arrangement of
capabilities may be built-in for secure data parser 3000. Any
additional features may be built-in and any of the features
illustrated may be removed, made more robust, made less robust, or
may otherwise be modified in any suitable way. Buffers 3008 and
3010 are likewise merely illustrative and may be modified, removed,
or added to in any suitable way.
[0416] Any suitable modules implemented in software, hardware or
both may be called by or may call to secure data parser 3000. If
desired, even capabilities that are built into secure data parser
3000 may be replaced by one or more external modules. As
illustrated, some external modules include random number generator
3012, cipher feedback key generator 3014, hash algorithm 3016, any
one or more types of encryption 3018, and key management 3020. It
will be understood that these are merely illustrative external
modules. Any other suitable modules may be used in addition to or
in place of those illustrated.
[0417] Cipher feedback key generator 3014 may, externally to secure
data parser 3000, generate for each secure data parser operation, a
unique key, or random number (using, for example, random number
generator 3012), to be used as a seed value for an operation that
extends an original session key size (e.g., a value of 128, 256,
512, or 1024 bits) into a value equal to the length of the data to
be parsed and split. Any suitable algorithm may be used for the
cipher feedback key generation, including, for example, the AES
cipher feedback key generation algorithm.
[0418] In order to facilitate integration of secure data parser
3000 and its external modules (i.e., secure data parser layer 3026)
into an application layer 3024 (e.g., email application, database
application, etc.), a wrapping layer that may make use of, for
example, API function calls may be used. Any other suitable
arrangement for facilitating integration of secure data parser
layer 3026 into application layer 3024 may be used.
[0419] FIG. 31 illustratively shows how the arrangement of FIG. 30
may be used when a write (e.g., to a storage device), insert (e.g.,
in a database field), or transmit (e.g., across a network) command
is issued in application layer 3024. At step 3100 data to be
secured is identified and a call is made to the secure data parser.
The call is passed through wrapper layer 3022 where at step 3102,
wrapper layer 3022 streams the input data identified at step 3100
into assembled data buffer 3008. Also at step 3102, any suitable
share information, filenames, any other suitable information, or
any combination thereof may be stored (e.g., as information 3106 at
wrapper layer 3022). Secure data processor 3000 then parses and
splits the data it takes as input from assembled data buffer 3008
in accordance with the present invention. It outputs the data
shares into split shares buffers 3010. At step 3104, wrapper layer
3022 obtains from stored information 3106 any suitable share
information (i.e., stored by wrapper 3022 at step 3102) and share
location(s) (e.g., from one or more configuration files). Wrapper
layer 3022 then writes the output shares (obtained from split
shares buffers 3010) appropriately (e.g., written to one or more
storage devices, communicated onto a network, etc.).
[0420] FIG. 32 illustratively shows how the arrangement of FIG. 30
may be used when a read (e.g., from a storage device), select
(e.g., from a database field), or receive (e.g., from a network)
occurs. At step 3200, data to be restored is identified and a call
to secure data parser 3000 is made from application layer 3024. At
step 3202, from wrapper layer 3022, any suitable share information
is obtained and share location is determined. Wrapper layer 3022
loads the portions of data identified at step 3200 into split
shares buffers 3010. Secure data parser 3000 then processes these
shares in accordance with the present invention (e.g., if only
three of four shares are available, then the redundancy
capabilities of secure data parser 3000 may be used to restore the
original data using only the three shares). The restored data is
then stored in assembled data buffer 3008. At step 3204,
application layer 3022 converts the data stored in assembled data
buffer 3008 into its original data format (if necessary) and
provides the original data in its original format to application
layer 3024.
[0421] It will be understood that the parsing and splitting of
original data illustrated in FIG. 31 and the restoring of portions
of data into original data illustrated in FIG. 32 is merely
illustrative. Any other suitable processes, components, or both may
be used in addition to or in place of those illustrated.
[0422] FIG. 33 is a block diagram of an illustrative process flow
for parsing and splitting original data into two or more portions
of data in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
As illustrated, the original data desired to be parsed and split is
plain text 3306 (i.e., the word "SUMMIT" is used as an example). It
will be understood that any other type of data may be parsed and
split in accordance with the present invention. A session key 3300
is generated. If the length of session key 3300 is not compatible
with the length of original data 3306, then cipher feedback session
key 3304 may be generated.
[0423] In one suitable approach, original data 3306 may be
encrypted prior to parsing, splitting, or both. For example, as
FIG. 33 illustrates, original data 3306 may be XORed with any
suitable value (e.g., with cipher feedback session key 3304, or
with any other suitable value). It will be understood that any
other suitable encryption technique may be used in place of or in
addition to the XOR technique illustrate. It will further be
understood that although FIG. 33 is illustrated in terms of byte by
byte operations, the operation may take place at the bit level or
at any other suitable level. It will further be understood that, if
desired, there need not be any encryption whatsoever of original
data 3306.
[0424] The resultant encrypted data (or original data if no
encryption took place) is then hashed to determine how to split the
encrypted (or original) data among the output buckets (e.g., of
which there are four in the illustrated example). In the
illustrated example, the hashing takes place by bytes and is a
function of cipher feedback session key 3304. It will be understood
that this is merely illustrative. The hashing may be performed at
the bit level, if desired. The hashing may be a function of any
other suitable value besides cipher feedback session key 3304. In
another suitable approach, hashing need not be used. Rather, any
other suitable technique for splitting data may be employed.
[0425] FIG. 34 is a block diagram of an illustrative process flow
for restoring original data 3306 from two or more parsed and split
portions of original data 3306 in accordance with one embodiment of
the present invention. The process involves hashing the portions in
reverse (i.e., to the process of FIG. 33) as a function of cipher
feedback session key 3304 to restore the encrypted original data
(or original data if there was no encryption prior to the parsing
and splitting). The encryption key may then be used to restore the
original data (i.e., in the illustrated example, cipher feedback
session key 3304 is used to decrypt the XOR encryption by XORing it
with the encrypted data). This the restores original data 3306.
[0426] FIG. 35 shows how bit-splitting may be implemented in the
example of FIGS. 33 and 34. A hash may be used (e.g., as a function
of the cipher feedback session key, as a function of any other
suitable value) to determine a bit value at which to split each
byte of data. It will be understood that this is merely one
illustrative way in which to implement splitting at the bit level.
Any other suitable technique may be used.
[0427] It will be understood that any reference to hash
functionality made herein may be made with respect to any suitable
hash algorithm. These include for example, MD5 and SHA-1. Different
hash algorithms may be used at different times and by different
components of the present invention.
[0428] After a split point has been determined in accordance with
the above illustrative procedure or through any other procedure or
algorithm, a determination may be made with regard to which data
portions to append each of the left and right segments. Any
suitable algorithm may be used for making this determination. For
example, in one suitable approach, a table of all possible
distributions (e.g., in the form of pairings of destinations for
the left segment and for the right segment) may be created, whereby
a destination share value for each of the left and right segment
may be determined by using any suitable hash function on
corresponding data in the session key, cipher feedback session key,
or any other suitable random or pseudo-random value, which may be
generated and extended to the size of the original data. For
example, a hash function of a corresponding byte in the random or
pseudo-random value may be made. The output of the hash function is
used to determine which pairing of destinations (i.e., one for the
left segment and one for the right segment) to select from the
table of all the destination combinations. Based on this result,
each segment of the split data unit is appended to the respective
two shares indicated by the table value selected as a result of the
hash function.
[0429] Redundancy information may be appended to the data portions
in accordance with the present invention to allow for the
restoration of the original data using fewer than all the data
portions. For example, if two out of four portions are desired to
be sufficient for restoration of data, then additional data from
the shares may be accordingly appended to each share in, for
example, a round-robin manner (e.g., where the size of the original
data is 4 MB, then share 1 gets its own shares as well as those of
shares 2 and 3; share 2 gets its own share as well as those of
shares 3 and 4; share 3 gets its own share as well as those of
shares 4 and 1; and share 4 gets its own shares as well as those of
shares 1 and 2). Any such suitable redundancy may be used in
accordance with the present invention.
[0430] It will be understood that any other suitable parsing and
splitting approach may be used to generate portions of data from an
original data set in accordance with the present invention. For
example, parsing and splitting may be randomly or pseudo-randomly
processed on a bit by bit basis. A random or pseudo-random value
may be used (e.g., session key, cipher feedback session key, etc.)
whereby for each bit in the original data, the result of a hash
function on corresponding data in the random or pseudo-random value
may indicate to which share to append the respective bit. In one
suitable approach the random or pseudo-random value may be
generated as, or extended to, 8 times the size of the original data
so that the hash function may be performed on a corresponding byte
of the random or pseudo-random value with respect to each bit of
the original data. Any other suitable algorithm for parsing and
splitting data on a bit by bit level may be used in accordance with
the present invention. It will further be appreciated that
redundancy data may be appended to the data shares such as, for
example, in the manner described immediately above in accordance
with the present invention.
[0431] In one suitable approach, parsing and splitting need not be
random or pseudo-random. Rather, any suitable deterministic
algorithm for parsing and splitting data may be used. For example,
breaking up the original data into sequential shares may be
employed as a parsing and splitting algorithm. Another example is
to parse and split the original data bit by bit, appending each
respective bit to the data shares sequentially in a round-robin
manner. It will further be appreciated that redundancy data may be
appended to the data shares such as, for example, in the manner
described above in accordance with the present invention.
[0432] In one embodiment of the present invention, after the secure
data parser generates a number of portions of original data, in
order to restore the original data, certain one or more of the
generated portions may be mandatory. For example, if one of the
portions is used as an authentication share (e.g., saved on a
physical token device), and if the fault tolerance feature of the
secure data parser is being used (i.e., where fewer than all
portions are necessary to restore the original data), then even
though the secure data parser may have access to a sufficient
number of portions of the original data in order to restore the
original data, it may require the authentication share stored on
the physical token device before it restores the original data. It
will be understood that any number and types of particular shares
may be required based on, for example, application, type of data,
user, any other suitable factors, or any combination thereof.
[0433] In one suitable approach, the secure data parser or some
external component to the secure data parser may encrypt one or
more portions of the original data. The encrypted portions may be
required to be provided and decrypted in order to restore the
original data. The different encrypted portions may be encrypted
with different encryption keys. For example, this feature may be
used to implement a more secure "two man rule" whereby a first user
would need to have a particular share encrypted using a first
encryption and a second user would need to have a particular share
encrypted using a second encryption key. In order to access the
original data, both users would need to have their respective
encryption keys and provide their respective portions of the
original data. In one suitable approach, a public key may be used
to encrypt one or more data portions that may be a mandatory share
required to restore the original data. A private key may then be
used to decrypt the share in order to be used to restore to the
original data.
[0434] Any such suitable paradigm may be used that makes use of
mandatory shares where fewer than all shares are needed to restore
original data.
[0435] In one suitable embodiment of the present invention,
distribution of data into a finite number of shares of data may be
processed randomly or pseudo-randomly such that from a statistical
perspective, the probability that any particular share of data
receives a particular unit of data is equal to the probability that
any one of the remaining shares will receive the unit of data. As a
result, each share of data will have an approximately equal amount
of data bits.
[0436] According to another embodiment of the present invention,
each of the finite number of shares of data need not have an equal
probability of receiving units of data from the parsing and
splitting of the original data. Rather certain one or more shares
may have a higher or lower probability than the remaining shares.
As a result, certain shares may be larger or smaller in terms of
bit size relative to other shares. For example, in a two-share
scenario, one share may have a 1% probability of receiving a unit
of data whereas the second share has a 99% probability. It should
follow, therefore that once the data units have been distributed by
the secure data parser among the two share, the first share should
have approximately 1% of the data and the second share 99%. Any
suitable probabilities may be used in accordance with the present
invention.
[0437] It will be understood that the secure data parser may be
programmed to distribute data to shares according to an exact (or
near exact) percentage as well. For example, the secure data parser
may be programmed to distribute 80% of data to a first share and
the remaining 20% of data to a second share.
[0438] According to another embodiment of the present invention,
the secure data parser may generate data shares, one or more of
which have predefined sizes. For example, the secure data parser
may split original data into data portions where one of the
portions is exactly 256 bits. In one suitable approach, if it is
not possible to generate a data portion having the requisite size,
then the secure data parser may pad the portion to make it the
correct size. Any suitable size may be used.
[0439] In one suitable approach, the size of a data portion may be
the size of an encryption key, a splitting key, any other suitable
key, or any other suitable data element.
[0440] As previously discussed, the secure data parser may use keys
in the parsing and splitting of data. For purposes of clarity and
brevity, these keys shall be referred to herein as "splitting
keys." For example, the Session Master Key, previously introduced,
is one type of splitting key. Also, as previously discussed,
splitting keys may be secured within shares of data generated by
the secure data parser. Any suitable algorithms for securing
splitting keys may be used to secure them among the shares of data.
For example, the Shamir algorithm may be used to secure the
splitting keys whereby information that may be used to reconstruct
a splitting key is generated and appended to the shares of data.
Any other such suitable algorithm may be used in accordance with
the present invention.
[0441] Similarly, any suitable encryption keys may be secured
within one or more shares of data according to any suitable
algorithm such as the Shamir algorithm. For example, encryption
keys used to encrypt a data set prior to parsing and splitting,
encryption keys used to encrypt a data portions after parsing and
splitting, or both may be secured using, for example, the Shamir
algorithm or any other suitable algorithm.
[0442] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an All
or Nothing Transform (AoNT), such as a Full Package Transform, may
be used to further secure data by transforming splitting keys,
encryption keys, any other suitable data elements, or any
combination thereof. For example, an encryption key used to encrypt
a data set prior to parsing and splitting in accordance with the
present invention may be transformed by an AoNT algorithm. The
transformed encryption key may then be distributed among the data
shares according to, for example, the Shamir algorithm or any other
suitable algorithm. In order to reconstruct the encryption key, the
encrypted data set must be restored (e.g., not necessarily using
all the data shares if redundancy was used in accordance with the
present invention) in order to access the necessary information
regarding the transformation in accordance with AoNTs as is well
known by one skilled in the art. When the original encryption key
is retrieved, it may be used to decrypt the encrypted data set to
retrieve the original data set. It will be understood that the
fault tolerance features of the present invention may be used in
conjunction with the AoNT feature. Namely, redundancy data may be
included in the data portions such that fewer than all data
portions are necessary to restore the encrypted data set.
[0443] It will be understood that the AoNT may be applied to
encryption keys used to encrypt the data portions following parsing
and splitting either in place of or in addition to the encryption
and AoNT of the respective encryption key corresponding to the data
set prior to parsing and splitting. Likewise, AoNT may be applied
to splitting keys.
[0444] In one embodiment of the present invention, encryption keys,
splitting keys, or both as used in accordance with the present
invention may be further encrypted using, for example, a workgroup
key in order to provide an extra level of security to a secured
data set.
[0445] In one embodiment of the present invention, an audit module
may be provided that tracks whenever the secure data parser is
invoked to split data.
[0446] FIG. 36 illustrates possible options 3600 for using the
components of the secure data parser in accordance with the
invention. Each combination of options is outlined below and
labeled with the appropriate step numbers from FIG. 36. The secure
data parser may be modular in nature, allowing for any known
algorithm to be used within each of the function blocks shown in
FIG. 36. For example, other key splitting (e.g., secret sharing)
algorithms such as Blakely may be used in place of Shamir, or the
AES encryption could be replaced by other known encryption
algorithms such as Triple DES. The labels shown in the example of
FIG. 36 merely depict one possible combination of algorithms for
use in one embodiment of the invention. It should be understood
that any suitable algorithm or combination of algorithms may be
used in place of the labeled algorithms.
[0447] 1) 3610, 3612, 3614, 3615, 3616, 3617, 3618, 3619
[0448] Using previously encrypted data at step 3610, the data may
be eventually split into a predefined number of shares. If the
split algorithm requires a key, a split encryption key may be
generated at step 3612 using a cryptographically secure
pseudo-random number generator. The split encryption key may
optionally be transformed using an All or Nothing Transform (AoNT)
into a transform split key at step 3614 before being key split to
the predefined number of shares with fault tolerance at step 3615.
The data may then be split into the predefined number of shares at
step 3616. A fault tolerant scheme may be used at step 3617 to
allow for regeneration of the data from less than the total number
of shares. Once the shares are created, authentication/integrity
information may be embedded into the shares at step 3618. Each
share may be optionally post-encrypted at step 3619.
[0449] 2) 3111, 3612, 3614, 3615, 3616, 3617, 3618, 3619
[0450] In some embodiments, the input data may be encrypted using
an encryption key provided by a user or an external system. The
external key is provided at step 3611. For example, the key may be
provided from an external key store. If the split algorithm
requires a key, the split encryption key may be generated using a
cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator at step
3612. The split key may optionally be transformed using an All or
Nothing Transform (AoNT) into a transform split encryption key at
step 3614 before being key split to the predefined number of shares
with fault tolerance at step 3615. The data is then split to a
predefined number of shares at step 3616. A fault tolerant scheme
may be used at step 3617 to allow for regeneration of the data from
less than the total number of shares. Once the shares are created,
authentication/integrity information may be embedded into the
shares at step 3618. Each share may be optionally post-encrypted at
step 3619.
[0451] 3) 3612, 3613, 3614, 3615, 3612, 3614, 3615, 3616, 3617,
3618, 3619
[0452] In some embodiments, an encryption key may be generated
using a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator at
step 3612 to transform the data. Encryption of the data using the
generated encryption key may occur at step 3613. The encryption key
may optionally be transformed using an All or Nothing Transform
(AoNT) into a transform encryption key at step 3614. The transform
encryption key and/or generated encryption key may then be split
into the predefined number of shares with fault tolerance at step
3615. If the split algorithm requires a key, generation of the
split encryption key using a cryptographically secure pseudo-random
number generator may occur at step 3612. The split key may
optionally be transformed using an All or Nothing Transform (AoNT)
into a transform split encryption key at step 3614 before being key
split to the predefined number of shares with fault tolerance at
step 3615. The data may then be split into a predefined number of
shares at step 3616. A fault tolerant scheme may be used at step
3617 to allow for regeneration of the data from less than the total
number of shares. Once the shares are created,
authentication/integrity information will be embedded into the
shares at step 3618. Each share may then be optionally
post-encrypted at step 3619.
[0453] 4) 3612, 3614, 3615, 3616, 3617, 3618, 3619
[0454] In some embodiments, the data may be split into a predefined
number of shares. If the split algorithm requires a key, generation
of the split encryption key using a cryptographically secure
pseudo-random number generator may occur at step 3612. The split
key may optionally be transformed using an All or Nothing Transform
(AoNT) into a transformed split key at step 3614 before being key
split into the predefined number of shares with fault tolerance at
step 3615. The data may then be split at step 3616. A fault
tolerant scheme may be used at step 3617 to allow for regeneration
of the data from less than the total number of shares. Once the
shares are created, authentication/integrity information may be
embedded into the shares at step 3618. Each share may be optionally
post-encrypted at step 3619.
[0455] Although the above four combinations of options are
preferably used in some embodiments of the invention, any other
suitable combinations of features, steps, or options may be used
with the secure data parser in other embodiments.
[0456] The secure data parser may offer flexible data protection by
facilitating physical separation. Data may be first encrypted, then
split into shares with "m of n" fault tolerance. This allows for
regeneration of the original information when less than the total
number of shares is available. For example, some shares may be lost
or corrupted in transmission. The lost or corrupted shares may be
recreated from fault tolerance or integrity information appended to
the shares, as discussed in more detail below.
[0457] In order to create the shares, a number of keys are
optionally utilized by the secure data parser. These keys may
include one or more of the following:
[0458] Pre-encryption key: When pre-encryption of the shares is
selected, an external key may be passed to the secure data parser.
This key may be generated and stored externally in a key store (or
other location) and may be used to optionally encrypt data prior to
data splitting.
[0459] Split encryption key: This key may be generated internally
and used by the secure data parser to encrypt the data prior to
splitting. This key may then be stored securely within the shares
using a key split algorithm.
[0460] Split session key: This key is not used with an encryption
algorithm; rather, it may be used to key the data partitioning
algorithms when random splitting is selected. When a random split
is used, a split session key may be generated internally and used
by the secure data parser to partition the data into shares. This
key may be stored securely within the shares using a key splitting
algorithm.
[0461] Post encryption key: When post encryption of the shares is
selected, an external key may be passed to the secure data parser
and used to post encrypt the individual shares. This key may be
generated and stored externally in a key store or other suitable
location.
[0462] In some embodiments, when data is secured using the secure
data parser in this way, the information may only be reassembled
provided that all of the required shares and external encryption
keys are present.
[0463] FIG. 37 shows illustrative overview process 3700 for using
the secure data parser of the present invention in some
embodiments. As described above, two well-suited functions for
secure data parser 3706 may include encryption 3702 and backup
3704. As such, secure data parser 3706 may be integrated with a
RAID or backup system or a hardware or software encryption engine
in some embodiments.
[0464] The primary key processes associated with secure data parser
3706 may include one or more of pre-encryption process 3708,
encrypt/transform process 3710, key secure process 3712,
parse/distribute process 3714, fault tolerance process 3716, share
authentication process 3716, and post-encryption process 3720.
These processes may be executed in several suitable orders or
combinations, as detailed in FIG. 36. The combination and order of
processes used may depend on the particular application or use, the
level of security desired, whether optional pre-encryption,
post-encryption, or both, are desired, the redundancy desired, the
capabilities or performance of an underlying or integrated system,
or any other suitable factor or combination of factors.
[0465] The output of illustrative process 3700 may be two or more
shares 3722. As described above, data may be distributed to each of
these shares randomly (or pseudo-randomly) in some embodiments. In
other embodiments, a deterministic algorithm (or some suitable
combination of random, pseudo-random, and deterministic algorithms)
may be used.
[0466] In addition to the individual protection of information
assets, there is sometimes a requirement to share information among
different groups of users or communities of interest. It may then
be necessary to either control access to the individual shares
within that group of users or to share credentials among those
users that would only allow members of the group to reassemble the
shares. To this end, a workgroup key may be deployed to group
members in some embodiments of the invention. The workgroup key
should be protected and kept confidential, as compromise of the
workgroup key may potentially allow those outside the group to
access information. Some systems and methods for workgroup key
deployment and protection are discussed below.
[0467] The workgroup key concept allows for enhanced protection of
information assets by encrypting key information stored within the
shares. Once this operation is performed, even if all required
shares and external keys are discovered, an attacker has no hope of
recreating the information without access to the workgroup key.
[0468] FIG. 38 shows illustrative block diagram 3800 for storing
key and data components within the shares. In the example of
diagram 3800, the optional pre-encrypt and post-encrypt steps are
omitted, although these steps may be included in other
embodiments.
[0469] The simplified process to split the data includes encrypting
the data using encryption key 3804 at encryption stage 3802.
Portions of encryption key 3804 may then be split and stored within
shares 3810 in accordance with the present invention. Portions of
split encryption key 3806 may also be stored within shares 3810.
Using the split encryption key, data 3808 is then split and stored
in shares 3810.
[0470] In order to restore the data, split encryption key 3806 may
be retrieved and restored in accordance with the present invention.
The split operation may then be reversed to restore the ciphertext.
Encryption key 3804 may also be retrieved and restored, and the
ciphertext may then be decrypted using the encryption key.
[0471] When a workgroup key is utilized, the above process may be
changed slightly to protect the encryption key with the workgroup
key. The encryption key may then be encrypted with the workgroup
key prior to being stored within the shares. The modified steps are
shown in illustrative block diagram 3900 of FIG. 39.
[0472] The simplified process to split the data using a workgroup
key includes first encrypting the data using the encryption key at
stage 3902. The encryption key may then be encrypted with the
workgroup key at stage 3904. The encryption key encrypted with the
workgroup key may then be split into portions and stored with
shares 3912. Split key 3908 may also be split and stored in shares
3912. Finally, portions of data 3910 are split and stored in shares
3912 using split key 3908.
[0473] In order to restore the data, the split key may be retrieved
and restored in accordance with the present invention. The split
operation may then be reversed to restore the ciphertext in
accordance with the present invention. The encryption key (which
was encrypted with the workgroup key) may be retrieved and
restored. The encryption key may then be decrypted using the
workgroup key. Finally, the ciphertext may be decrypted using the
encryption key.
[0474] There are several secure methods for deploying and
protecting workgroup keys. The selection of which method to use for
a particular application depends on a number of factors. These
factors may include security level required, cost, convenience, and
the number of users in the workgroup. Some commonly used techniques
used in some embodiments are provided below:
Hardware-Based Key Storage
[0475] Hardware-based solutions generally provide the strongest
guarantees for the security of encryption/decryption keys in an
encryption system. Examples of hardware-based storage solutions
include tamper-resistant key token devices which store keys in a
portable device (e.g., smartcard/dongle), or non-portable key
storage peripherals. These devices are designed to prevent easy
duplication of key material by unauthorized parties. Keys may be
generated by a trusted authority and distributed to users, or
generated within the hardware. Additionally, many key storage
systems provide for multi-factor authentication, where use of the
keys requires access both a physical object (token) and a
passphrase or biometric.
Software-Based Key Storage
[0476] While dedicated hardware-based storage may be desirable for
high-security deployments or applications, other deployments may
elect to store keys directly on local hardware (e.g., disks, RAM or
non-volatile RAM stores such as USB drives). This provides a lower
level of protection against insider attacks, or in instances where
an attacker is able to directly access the encryption machine.
[0477] To secure keys on disk, software-based key management often
protects keys by storing them in encrypted form under a key derived
from a combination of other authentication metrics, including:
passwords and passphrases, presence of other keys (e.g., from a
hardware-based solution), biometrics, or any suitable combination
of the foregoing. The level of security provided by such techniques
may range from the relatively weak key protection mechanisms
provided by some operating systems (e.g., MS Windows and Linux), to
more robust solutions implemented using multi-factor
authentication.
[0478] The secure data parser of the present invention may be
advantageously used in a number of applications and technologies.
For example, email system, RAID systems, video broadcasting
systems, database systems, tape backup systems, or any other
suitable system may have the secure data parser integrated at any
suitable level. As previously discussed, it will be understand that
the secure data parser may also be integrated for protection and
fault tolerance of any type of data in motion through any transport
medium, including, for example, wired, wireless, or physical
transport mediums. As one example, voice over Internet protocol
(VoIP) applications may make use of the secure data parser of the
present invention to solve problems relating to echoes and delays
that are commonly found in VoIP. The need for network retry on
dropped packets may be eliminated by using fault tolerance, which
guarantees packet delivery even with the loss of a predetermined
number of shares. Packets of data (e.g., network packets) may also
be efficiently split and restored "on-the-fly" with minimal delay
and buffering, resulting in a comprehensive solution for various
types of data in motion. The secure data parser may act on network
data packets, network voice packets, file system data blocks, or
any other suitable unit of information. In addition to being
integrated with a VoIP application, the secure data parser may be
integrated with a file-sharing application (e.g., a peer-to-peer
file-sharing application), a video broadcasting application, an
electronic voting or polling application (which may implement an
electronic voting protocol and blind signatures, such as the Sensus
protocol), an email application, or any other network application
that may require or desire secure communication.
[0479] In some embodiments, support for network data in motion may
be provided by the secure data parser of the present invention in
two distinct phases--a header generation phase and a data
partitioning phase. Simplified header generation process 4000 and
simplified data partitioning process 4010 are shown in FIGS. 40A
and 40B, respectively. One or both of these processes may be
performed on network packets, file system blocks, or any other
suitable information.
[0480] In some embodiments, header generation process 4000 may be
performed one time at the initiation of a network packet stream. At
step 4002, a random (or pseudo-random) split encryption key, K, may
be generated. The split encryption key, K, may then be optionally
encrypted (e.g., using the workgroup key described above) at AES
key wrap step 4004. Although an AES key wrap may be used in some
embodiments, any suitable key encryption or key wrap algorithm may
be used in other embodiments. AES key wrap step 4004 may operate on
the entire split encryption key, K, or the split encryption key may
be parsed into several blocks (e.g., 64-bit blocks). AES key wrap
step 4004 may then operate on blocks of the split encryption key,
if desired.
[0481] At step 4006, a secret sharing algorithm (e.g., Shamir) may
be used to split the split encryption key, K, into key shares. Each
key share may then be embedded into one of the output shares (e.g.,
in the share headers). Finally, a share integrity block and
(optionally) a post-authentication tag (e.g., MAC) may be appended
to the header block of each share. Each header block may be
designed to fit within a single data packet.
[0482] After header generation is complete (e.g., using simplified
header generation process 4000), the secure data parser may enter
the data partitioning phase using simplified data splitting process
4010. Each incoming data packet or data block in the stream is
encrypted using the split encryption key, K, at step 4012. At step
4014, share integrity information (e.g., a hash H) may be computed
on the resulting ciphertext from step 4012. For example, a SHA-256
hash may be computed. At step 4106, the data packet or data block
may then be partitioned into two or more data shares using one of
the data splitting algorithms described above in accordance with
the present invention. In some embodiments, the data packet or data
block may be split so that each data share contains a substantially
random distribution of the encrypted data packet or data block. The
integrity information (e.g., hash H) may then be appended to each
data share. An optional post-authentication tag (e.g., MAC) may
also be computed and appended to each data share in some
embodiments.
[0483] Each data share may include metadata, which may be necessary
to permit correct reconstruction of the data blocks or data
packets. This information may be included in the share header. The
metadata may include such information as cryptographic key shares,
key identities, share nonces, signatures/MAC values, and integrity
blocks. In order to maximize bandwidth efficiency, the metadata may
be stored in a compact binary format.
[0484] For example, in some embodiments, the share header includes
a cleartext header chunk, which is not encrypted and may include
such elements as the Shamir key share, per-session nonce, per-share
nonce, key identifiers (e.g., a workgroup key identifier and a
post-authentication key identifier). The share header may also
include an encrypted header chunk, which is encrypted with the
split encryption key. An integrity header chunk, which may include
integrity checks for any number of the previous blocks (e.g., the
previous two blocks) may also be included in the header. Any other
suitable values or information may also be included in the share
header.
[0485] As shown in illustrative share format 4100 of FIG. 41,
header block 4102 may be associated with two or more output blocks
4104. Each header block, such as header block 4102, may be designed
to fit within a single network data packet. In some embodiments,
after header block 4102 is transmitted from a first location to a
second location, the output blocks may then be transmitted.
Alternatively, header block 4102 and output blocks 4104 may be
transmitted at the same time in parallel. The transmission may
occur over one or more similar or dissimilar communications
paths.
[0486] Each output block may include data portion 4106 and
integrity/authenticity portion 4108. As described above, each data
share may be secured using a share integrity portion including
share integrity information (e.g., a SHA-256 hash) of the
encrypted, pre-partitioned data. To verify the integrity of the
outputs blocks at recovery time, the secure data parser may compare
the share integrity blocks of each share and then invert the split
algorithm. The hash of the recovered data may then be verified
against the share hash.
[0487] As previously mentioned, in some embodiments of the present
invention, the secure date parser may be used in conjunction with a
tape backup system. For example, an individual tape may be used as
a node (i.e., portion/share) in accordance with the present
invention. Any other suitable arrangement may be used. For example,
a tape library or subsystem, which is made up of two or more tapes,
may be treated as a single node.
[0488] Redundancy may also be used with the tapes in accordance
with the present invention. For example, if a data set is
apportioned among four tapes (i.e., portions/shares), then two of
the four tapes may be necessary in order to restore the original
data. It will be understood that any suitable number of nodes
(i.e., less than the total number of nodes) may be required to
restore the original data in accordance with the redundancy
features of the present invention. This substantially increases the
probability for restoration when one or more tapes expire.
[0489] Each tape may also be digitally protected with a SHA-256,
HMAC hash value, any other suitable value, or any combination
thereof to insure against tampering. Should any data on the tape or
the hash value change, that tape would not be a candidate for
restoration and any minimum required number of tapes of the
remaining tapes would be used to restore the data.
[0490] In conventional tape backup systems, when a user calls for
data to be written to or read from a tape, the tape management
system (TMS) presents a number that corresponds to a physical tape
mount. This tape mount points to a physical drive where the data
will be mounted. The tape is loaded either by a human tape operator
or by a tape robot in a tape silo.
[0491] Under the present invention, the physical tape mount may be
considered a logical mount point that points to a number of
physical tapes. This not only increases the data capacity but also
improves the performance because of the parallelism.
[0492] For increased performance the tape nodes may be or may
include a RAID array of disks used for storing tape images. This
allows for high-speed restoration because the data may always be
available in the protected RAID.
[0493] In any of the foregoing embodiments, the data to be secured
may be distributed into a plurality of shares using deterministic,
probabilistic, or both deterministic and probabilistic data
distribution techniques. In order to prevent an attacker from
beginning a crypto attack on any cipher block, the bits from cipher
blocks may be deterministically distributed to the shares. For
example, the distribution may be performed using the BitSegment
routine, or the BlockSegment routine may be modified to allow for
distribution of portions of blocks to multiple shares. This
strategy may defend against an attacker who has accumulated less
than "M" shares.
[0494] In some embodiments, a keyed secret sharing routine may be
employed using keyed information dispersal (e.g., through the use
of a keyed information dispersal algorithm or "IDA"). The key for
the keyed IDA may also be protected by one or more external
workgroup keys, one or more shared keys, or any combination of
workgroup keys and shared keys. In this way, a multi-factor secret
sharing scheme may be employed. To reconstruct the data, at least
"M" shares plus the workgroup key(s) (and/or shared key(s)) may be
required in some embodiments. The IDA (or the key for the IDA) may
also be driven into the encryption process. For example, the
transform may be driven into the clear text (e.g., during the
pre-processing layer before encrypting) and may further protect the
clear text before it is encrypted.
[0495] For example, in some embodiments, keyed information
dispersal is used to distribute unique portions of data from a data
set into two or more shares. The keyed information dispersal may
use a session key to first encrypt the data set, to distribute
unique portions of encrypted data from the data set into two or
more encrypted data set shares, or both encrypt the data set and
distribute unique portions of encrypted data from the data set into
the two or more encrypted data set shares. For example, to
distribute unique portions of the data set or encrypted data set,
secret sharing (or the methods described above, such as BitSegment
or BlockSegment) may be used. The session key may then optionally
be transformed (for example, using a full package transform or
AoNT) and shared using, for example, secret sharing (or the keyed
information dispersal and session key).
[0496] In some embodiments, the session key may be encrypted using
a shared key (e.g., a workgroup key) before unique portions of the
key are distributed or shared into two or more session key shares.
Two or more user shares may then be formed by combining at least
one encrypted data set share and at least one session key share. In
forming a user share, in some embodiments, the at least one session
key share may be interleaved into an encrypted data set share. In
other embodiments, the at least one session key share may be
inserted into an encrypted data set share at a location based at
least in part on the shared workgroup key. For example, keyed
information dispersal may be used to distribute each session key
share into a unique encrypted data set share to form a user share.
Interleaving or inserting a session key share into an encrypted
data set share at a location based at least in part on the shared
workgroup may provide increased security in the face of
cryptographic attacks. In other embodiments, one or more session
key shares may be appended to the beginning or end of an encrypted
data set share to form a user share. The collection of user shares
may then be stored separately on at least one data depository. The
data depository or depositories may be located in the same physical
location (for example, on the same magnetic or tape storage device)
or geographically separated (for example, on physically separated
servers in different geographic locations). To reconstruct the
original data set, an authorized set of user shares and the shared
workgroup key may be required.
[0497] Keyed information dispersal may be secure even in the face
of key-retrieval oracles. For example, take a blockcipher E and a
key-retrieval oracle for E that takes a list (X.sub.1, Y.sub.1), .
. . , (X.sub.c, Y.sub.c) of input/output pairs to the blockcipher,
and returns a key K that is consistent with the input/output
examples (e.g., =E.sub.K(X.sub.i) for all i). The oracle may return
the distinguished value 1 if there is no consistent key. This
oracle may model a cryptanalytic attack that may recover a key from
a list of input/output examples.
[0498] Standard blockcipher-based schemes may fail in the presence
of a key-retrieval oracle. For example, CBC encryption or the CBC
MAC may become completely insecure in the presence of a
key-retrieval oracle.
[0499] If .PI..sup.IDA is an IDA scheme and .PI..sup.Enc is an
encryption scheme given by a mode of operation of some blockcipher
E, then (.PI..sup.IDA, .PI..sup.Enc) provides security in the face
of a key-retrieval attack if the two schemes, when combined with an
arbitrary perfect secret-sharing scheme (PSS) as per HK1 or HK2,
achieve the robust computational secret sharing (RCSS) goal, but in
the model in which the adversary has a key-retrieval oracle.
[0500] If there exists an IDA scheme .PI..sup.IDA and an encryption
scheme .PI..sup.Enc such that the pair of schemes provides security
in the face of key-retrieval attacks, then one way to achieve this
pair may be to have a "clever" IDA and a "dumb" encryption scheme.
Another way to achieve this pair of schemes may be to have a "dumb"
IDA and a "clever" encryption scheme.
[0501] To illustrate the use of a clever IDA and a dumb encryption
scheme, in some embodiments, the encryption scheme may be CBC and
the IDA may have a "weak privacy" property. The weak privacy
property means, for example, that if the input to the IDA is a
random sequence of blocks M=M.sub.1 . . . M.sub.1 and the adversary
obtains shares from a non-authorized collection, then there is some
block index i such that it is infeasible for the adversary to
compute M.sub.1. Such a weakly-private IDA may be built by first
applying to M an information-theoretic AoNT, such as Stinson's
AoNT, and then applying a simple IDA such as BlockSegment, or a
bit-efficient IDA like Rabin's scheme (e.g., Reed-Solomon
encoding).
[0502] To illustrate the use of a dumb IDA and a clever encryption
scheme, in some embodiments, one may use a CBC mode with double
encryption instead of single encryption. Now any IDA may be used,
even replication. Having the key-retrieval oracle for the
blockcipher would be useless to an adversary, as the adversary will
be denied any singly-enciphered input/output example.
[0503] While a clever IDA has value, it may also be inessential in
some contexts, in the sense that the "smarts" needed to provide
security in the face of a key-retrieval attack could have been
"pushed" elsewhere. For example, in some embodiments, no matter how
smart the IDA, and for whatever goal is trying to be achieved with
the IDA in the context of HK1/HK2, the smarts may be pushed out of
the IDA and into the encryption scheme, being left with a fixed and
dumb IDA.
[0504] Based on the above, in some embodiments, a "universally
sound" clever IDA .PI..sup.IDA may be used. For example, an IDA is
provided such that, for all encryption schemes .PI..sup.Enc, the
pair (.PI..sup.IDA, .PI..sup.Enc) universally provides security in
the face of key-retrieval attacks.
[0505] In some embodiments, an encryption scheme is provided that
is RCSS secure in the face of a key-retrieval oracle. The scheme
may be integrated with HK1/HK2, with any IDA, to achieve security
in the face of key-retrieval. Using the new scheme may be
particularly useful, for example, for making symmetric encryption
schemes more secure against key-retrieval attacks.
[0506] As mentioned above, classical secret-sharing notions are
typically unkeyed. Thus, a secret is broken into shares, or
reconstructed from them, in a way that requires neither the dealer
nor the party reconstructing the secret to hold any kind of
symmetric or asymmetric key. The secure data parser described
herein, however, is optionally keyed. The dealer may provide a
symmetric key that, if used for data sharing, may be required for
data recovery. The secure data parser may use the symmetric key to
disperse or distribute unique portions of the message to be secured
into two or more shares.
[0507] The shared key may enable multi-factor or two-factor
secret-sharing (2FSS). The adversary may then be required to
navigate through two fundamentally different types of security in
order to break the security mechanism. For example, to violate the
secret-sharing goals, the adversary (1) may need to obtain the
shares of an authorized set of players, and (2) may need to obtain
a secret key that it should not be able to obtain (or break the
cryptographic mechanism that is keyed by that key).
[0508] In some embodiments, a new set of additional requirements is
added to the RCSS goal. The additional requirements may include the
"second factor"--key possession. These additional requirements may
be added without diminishing the original set of requirements. One
set of requirements may relate to the adversary's inability to
break the scheme if it knows the secret key but does not obtain
enough shares (e.g., the classical or first factor requirements)
while the other set of requirements may relate to the adversary's
inability to break the scheme if it does have the secret key but
manages to get hold of all of the shares (e.g., the new or
second-factor requirements).
[0509] In some embodiments, there may be two second-factor
requirements: a privacy requirement and an authenticity
requirement. In the privacy requirement, a game may be involved
where a secret key K and a bit b are selected by the environment.
The adversary now supplies a pair of equal-length messages in the
domain of the secret-sharing scheme, M.sub.1.sup.0 and
M.sub.1.sup.1. The environment computes the shares of M.sub.1.sup.b
to get a vector of shares, S.sub.1=(S.sub.1 [1], . . . , S.sub.1
[n]), and it gives the shares S.sub.1 (all of them) to the
adversary. The adversary may now choose another pair of messages
(M.sub.2.sup.0, M.sub.2.sup.1) and everything proceeds as before,
using the same key K and hidden bit b. The adversary's job is to
output the bit b' that it believes to be b. The adversary privacy
advantage is one less than twice the probability that b=b'. This
games captures the notion that, even learning all the shares, the
adversary still cannot learn anything about the shared secret if it
lacks the secret key.
[0510] In the authenticity requirement, a game may be involved
where the environment chooses a secret key K and uses this in the
subsequent calls to Share and Recover. Share and Recover may have
their syntax modified, in some embodiments, to reflect the presence
of this key. Then the adversary makes Share requests for whatever
messages M.sub.1, . . . , M.sub.q it chooses in the domain of the
secret-sharing scheme. In response to each Share request it gets
the corresponding n-vector of shares, S.sub.1, . . . , S.sub.q. The
adversary's aim is to forge a new plaintext; it wins if it outputs
a vector of shares S' such that, when fed to the Recover algorithm,
results in something not in {M.sub.1, . . . , M.sub.q}. This is an
"integrity of plaintext" notion.
[0511] There are two approaches to achieve multi-factor
secret-sharing. The first is a generic approach--generic in the
sense of using an underlying (R)CSS scheme in a black-box way. An
authenticated-encryption scheme is used to encrypt the message that
is to be CSS-shared, and then the resulting ciphertext may be
shared out, for example, using a secret sharing algorithm, such as
Blakely or Shamir.
[0512] A potentially more efficient approach is to allow the shared
key to be the workgroup key. Namely, (1) the randomly generated
session key of the (R)CSS scheme may be encrypted using the shared
key, and (2) the encryption scheme applied to the message (e.g.,
the file) may be replaced by an authenticated-encryption scheme.
This approach may entail only a minimal degradation in
performance.
[0513] The secure data parser of the present invention may be used
to implement a cloud computing security solution. Cloud computing
is network-based computing, storage, or both where computing and
storage resources may be provided to computer systems and other
devices over a network. Cloud computing resources are generally
accessed over the Internet, but cloud computing may be performed
over any suitable public or private network. Cloud computing may
provide a level of abstraction between computing resources and
their underlying hardware components (e.g., servers, storage
devices, networks), enabling remote access to a pool of computing
resources. These cloud computing resources may be collectively
referred to as the "cloud." Cloud computing may be used to provide
dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service
over the Internet or any other suitable network or combination of
networks.
[0514] Security is an important concern with cloud computing
because private data may be transferred over public networks and
may be processed and stored within publicly accessible or shared
systems. The secure data parser may be used to protect cloud
computing resources and the data being communicated between the
cloud and an end-user or device. For example, the secure data
parser may be used to secure data storage in the cloud,
data-in-motion in the cloud, network access in the cloud, data
services in the cloud, access to high-performance computing
resources in the cloud, and any other operations in the cloud.
[0515] FIG. 42 is an illustrative block diagram of a cloud
computing security solution. System 4200, including secure data
parser 4210, is coupled to cloud 4250 including cloud resources
4260. System 4200 may include any suitable hardware, such as a
computer terminal, personal computer, handheld device (e.g., PDA,
Blackberry, smart phone, tablet device), cellular telephone,
computer network, any other suitable hardware, or any combination
thereof. Secure data parser 4210 may be integrated at any suitable
level of system 4200. For example, secure data parser 4210 may be
integrated into the hardware and/or software of system 4200 at a
sufficiently back-end level such that the presence of secure data
parser 4210 may be substantially transparent to an end user of
system 4200. The integration of the secure data parser within
suitable systems is described in greater detail above with respect
to, for example, FIGS. 27 and 28. Cloud 4250 includes multiple
illustrative cloud resources 4260 including, data storage resources
4260a and 4260e, data service resources 4260b and 4260g, network
access control resources 4260c and 4260h, and high performing
computing resources 4260d and 4260f. Each of these resources will
be described in greater detail below with respect to FIGS. 43-47.
These cloud computing resources are merely illustrative. It should
be understood that any suitable number and type of cloud computing
resources may be accessible from system 4200.
[0516] One advantage of cloud computing is that the user of system
4200 may be able to access multiple cloud computing resources
without having to invest in dedicated computer hardware. The user
may have the ability to dynamically control the number and type of
cloud computing resources accessible to system 4200. For example,
system 4200 may be provided with on-demand storage resources in the
cloud having capacities that are dynamically adjustable based on
current needs. In some embodiments, one or more software
applications executed on system 4200 may couple system 4200 to
cloud resources 4260. For example, an Internet web browser may be
used to couple system 4200 to one or more cloud resources 4260 over
the Internet. In some embodiments, hardware integrated with or
connected to system 4200 may couple system 4200 to cloud resources
4260. In both embodiments, secure data parser 4210 may secure
communications with cloud resources 4260 and/or the data stored
within cloud resources 4260. The coupling of cloud resources 4260
to system 4200 may be transparent to system 4200 or the users of
system 4200 such that cloud resources 4260 appear to system 4200 as
local hardware resources. Furthermore shared cloud resources 4260
may appear to system 4200 as dedicated hardware resources.
[0517] Secure data parser 4210 may encrypt and split data such that
no forensically discernable data will traverse or will be stored
within the cloud. The underlying hardware components of the cloud
(e.g., servers, storage devices, networks) may be geographically
disbursed to ensure continuity of cloud resources in the event of a
power grid failure, weather event or other man-made or natural
event. As a result, even if some of the hardware components within
the cloud suffer a catastrophic failure, the cloud resources may
still be accessible. Cloud resources 4260 may be designed with
redundancies to provide uninterrupted service in spite of one or
more hardware failures.
[0518] FIG. 43 is an illustrative block diagram of a cloud
computing security solution for securing data in motion (i.e.,
during the transfer of data from one location to another) through
the cloud. FIG. 43 shows a sender system 4300, which may include
any suitable hardware, such as a computer terminal, personal
computer, handheld device (e.g., PDA, Blackberry), cellular
telephone, computer network, any other suitable hardware, or any
combination thereof. Sender system 4300 is used to generate and/or
store data, which may be, for example, an email message, a binary
data file (e.g., graphics, voice, video, etc.), or both. The data
is parsed and split by secure data parser 4310 in accordance with
the present invention. The resultant data portions may be
communicated over cloud 4350 to recipient system 4370. Recipient
system 4370 may be any suitable hardware as described above with
respect to sender system 4300. The separate data portions may be
recombined at recipient system 4370 to generate the original data
in accordance with the present invention. When traveling through
cloud 4310 the data portions may be communicated across one or more
communications paths including the Internet and/or one or more
intranets, LANs, WiFi, Bluetooth, any other suitable hard-wired or
wireless communications networks, or any combination thereof. As
described above with respect to FIGS. 28 and 29, the original data
is secured by the secure data parser even if some of the data
portions are compromised.
[0519] FIG. 44 is an illustrative block diagram of a cloud
computing security solution for securing data services in the
cloud. In this embodiment, a user 4400 may provide data services
4420 to an end user 4440 over cloud 4430. Secure parser 4410 may
secure the data services in accordance with the disclosed
embodiments. Data service 4420 may be any suitable application or
software service that is accessible over cloud 4430. For example,
data service 4420 may be a web-based application implemented as
part of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) system. Data service
4420 may be stored and executed on one or more systems within cloud
4430. The abstraction provided by this cloud computing
implementation allows data service 4420 to appear as a virtualized
resource to end user 4440 irrespective of the underlying hardware
resources. Secure parser 4410 may secure data in motion between
data service 4420 and end user 4440. Secure parser 4410 may also
secure stored data associated with data service 4420. The stored
data associated with data service 4420 may be secured within the
system or systems implementing data service 4420 and/or within
separate secure cloud data storage devices, which will be described
in greater detail below. Although data service 4420 and other
portions of FIG. 44 are shown outside of cloud 4430, it should be
understood that any of these elements may be incorporated within
cloud 4430.
[0520] FIG. 45 is an illustrative block diagram of a cloud
computing security solution for securing data storage resources in
the cloud. System 4500, including secure data parser 4510, is
coupled to cloud 4550 which includes data storage resources 4560.
Secure data parser 4510 may be used for parsing and splitting data
among one or more data storage resources 4560. Each data storage
resource 4560 may represent a one or more networked storage
devices. These storage devices may be assigned to a single
user/system of may be shared by multiple users/systems. The
security provided by secure data parser 4510 may allow data from
multiple users/systems to securely co-exist on the same storage
devices. The abstraction provided by this cloud computing
implementation allows data storage resources 4560 to appear as a
single virtualized storage resource to system 4500 irrespective of
the number and location of the underlying data storage resources.
When data is written to or read from data storage resources 4560,
secure data parser 4510 may split and recombine the data in a way
that may be transparent to the end user. In this manner, an end
user may be able to access to dynamically scalable storage on
demand.
[0521] Data storage in the cloud using secure data parser 4510 is
secure, resilient, persistent, and private. Secure data parser 4510
secures the data by ensuring that no forensically discernable data
traverses the cloud or is stored in a single storage device. The
cloud storage system is resilient because of the redundancy offered
by the secure data parser (i.e., fewer than all separated portions
of data are needed to reconstruct the original data). Storing the
separated portions within multiple storage devices and/or within
multiple data storage resources 4560 ensures that the data may be
reconstructed even if one or more of the storage devices fail or
are inaccessible. The cloud storage system is persistent because
loss of a storage device within data storage resources 4560 has no
impact on the end user. If one storage device fails, the data
portions that were stored within that storage device may be rebuilt
at another storage device without having to expose the data.
Furthermore, the storage resources 4560 (or even the multiple
networked storage devices that make up a data storage resource
4560) may be geographically dispersed to limit the risk of multiple
failures. Finally, the data stored in the cloud may be kept private
using one or more keys. As described above, data may be assigned to
a user or a community of interest by unique keys such that only
that user or community will have access to the data.
[0522] Data storage in the cloud using the secure data parser may
also provide a performance boost over traditional local or
networked storage. The throughput of the system may be improved by
writing and reading separate portions of data to multiple storage
devices in parallel. This increase in throughput may allow slower,
less expensive storage devices to be used without substantially
affecting the overall speed of the storage system.
[0523] FIG. 46 is an illustrative block diagram for securing
network access using a secure data parser in accordance with the
disclosed embodiments. Secure data parser 4610 may be used with
network access control block 4620 to control access to network
resources. As illustrated in FIG. 46, network access control block
4620 may be used to provide secure network communications between
user 4600 and end user 4640. In some embodiments, network access
control block 4620 may provide secure network access for one or
more network resources in the cloud (e.g., cloud 4250, FIG. 42).
Authorized users (e.g., user 4600 and end user 4640) may be
provided with group-wide keys that provide the users with the
ability to securely communicate over a network and/or to access
secure network resources. The secured network resources will not
respond unless the proper credentials (e.g., group keys) are
presented. This may prevent common networking attacks such as, for
example, denial of service attacks, port scanning attacks,
man-in-the-middle attacks, and playback attacks.
[0524] In addition to providing security for data at rest stored
within a communications network and security for data in motion
through the communications network, network access control block
4620 may be used with secure data parser 4620 to share information
among different groups of users or communities of interest.
Collaboration groups may be set up to participate as secure
communities of interest on secure virtual networks. A workgroup key
may be deployed to group members to provide members of the group
access to the network and networked resources. Systems and methods
for workgroup key deployments have been discussed above.
[0525] FIG. 47 is an illustrative block diagram for securing access
to high performance computing resources using a secure data parser
in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Secure data parser
4710 may be used to provide secure access to high performance
computing resources 4720. As illustrated in FIG. 47 end user 4740
may access high performance computing resources 4720. In some
embodiments, secure data parser 4710 may provide secure access to
high performance resources in the cloud (e.g., cloud 4250, FIG.
42). High performance computing resources may be large computer
servers or server farms. These high performance computing resources
may provide flexible, scalable, and configurable data services and
data storage services to users.
[0526] In accordance with another embodiment, a secure data parser
may be used to secure data access using virtual machines. A
hypervisor, also referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM) is
a computer system that allows multiple virtual machines to run on a
single host computer. FIG. 48 shows an illustrative block diagram
including hypervisor 4800 and a series of virtual machines 4810
running on hypervisor 4800. Hypervisor 4800 runs a fundamental
operating system (e.g., Microsoft Windows.RTM. and Linux). Virtual
machines 4810 may be firewalled off from the fundamental operating
system such that attacks (e.g., viruses, worms, hacks, etc.) on the
fundamental operating system do not affect virtual machines 4810.
One or more secure data parsers may be integrated with hypervisor
4800 to secure virtual machines 4810. In particular, using the
secure data parser, virtual machines 4810 may securely communicate
with one or more servers or end users. In accordance with this
embodiment, secure data access may be deployed to users by
providing the users with secure virtual machine images. This
embodiment may allow for on demand information sharing while
assuring confidentiality and integrity of the data.
[0527] FIGS. 49 and 50 show alternative embodiments for integrating
a secure data parser with a hypervisor. In FIG. 49, secure data
parser 4930 is implemented above hypervisor 4920. For example,
secure data parser 4930 may be implemented as a software
application or module operating on hypervisor 4920. In some
embodiments, secure data parser 4930 may be implemented by a
virtual machine running on hypervisor 4920. A virtual machine
running on hypervisor 4920 may securely couple to server 4940 and
end users 4950 using secure data parser 4930. In FIG. 50, secure
data parser 5030 is implemented below hypervisor 5020. For example,
secure data parser 5030 may be implemented within the hardware of
hypervisor 5020. The virtual machine running on hypervisor 5020 may
securely communicate with server 5040 and end users 5050 using
secure data parser 5030.
[0528] In accordance with another embodiment, the secure data
parser may be used to secure orthogonal division multiplexing
(OFDM) communications channels. OFDM is a multiplexing scheme that
is used for wideband digital communication. Broadband wireless
standards (e.g., WiMAX and LTE) and broadband over power line (BPL)
use OFDM. OFDM is unique because all adjacent channels are truly
orthogonal. This eliminates crosstalk, cancellation, and induction
of noise. Currently, in these OFDM standards, data is transmitted
across a single OFDM communications channel. The secure data parser
may secure OFDM communications by splitting data amongst multiple
OFDM communications channels. As described above, splitting data
amongst multiple data channels using the secure data parser secures
the data because only a portion of the data is transmitted over
each channel. As an additional benefit, the secure data parser may
simultaneously transmit multiple data portions on multiple data
channels. These simultaneous transmissions may increase the
effective bandwidth of the data transmission. Additionally or
alternatively, the secure data parser may transmit the same data
portions on multiple data channels. This redundant transmission
technique may increase transmission reliability. FIG. 51 is an
illustrative block diagram for securing an OFDM communications
network. As illustrated in FIG. 51 end user 5110 may use secure
data parser 5120 to send data over OFDM network 5140 to end user
5150. OFDM network 5140 may be a broadband over wireless network, a
broadband over power line network, or any other suitable OFDM
network.
[0529] In accordance with some other embodiments, the secure data
parser may be used to protect critical infrastructure controls
including, for example, the power grid. Internet Protocol version 6
(IPv6) is the next-generation Internet Protocol. IPv6 has a larger
address space than the current Internet Protocol. When implemented,
IPv6 will allow more devices to be directly accessed over the
Internet. It is important that the controls of critical
infrastructure be restricted to limit access to authorized
individuals. As described above, the secure data parser may limit
access to network resources to authorized users and groups.
Critical systems may be protected using the "two man rule" whereby
at least two users would need to provide their respective keys to
access the critical systems. FIG. 52 is an illustrative block
diagram for securing the power grid. As illustrated in FIG. 52 user
5210 may use secure data parser 5220 to provide secure access to
power grid 5240 for end user end user 5250.
[0530] In some embodiments, power grid systems may be coupled to
the Internet using broadband over power line networks to eliminate
network cabling and associated equipment of typical communications
networks. Coupling power grid systems to the Internet may enable
smart grid technologies that allow for more efficient use of power
by reporting usage in real time. As another benefit, high powered
computing resources and/or data storage facilities may be installed
at Internet connected power monitoring facilities. These resources
may provide reliable storage and processing nodes for protecting
data in the cloud.
[0531] As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 48-50, the secure
data parsing techniques described herein may be applied to data
access using virtual machines, and in particular, to communication
between a virtual machine and one or more servers or end users.
Described below are systems and methods for providing additional
security features within virtual machine computing environments
that integrate virtual machine and host machine security
operations.
[0532] FIG. 53 is a block diagram of typical virtual machine
computing environment 5300. Environment 5300 may include underlying
hardware 5302 (which may include hardware support components, such
as accelerators) and kernel 5306 (which may include kernel-based
virtual machine (KVM) support 5664). Environment 5300 may also
include virtualization layer 5660, which may include QEMU 5660 (a
processor emulator that acts as a hosted virtual machine monitor,
or VMM, as discussed above with reference to hypervisors 4920 and
5020 of FIGS. 49 and 50, respectively) and vTPM 5662 (a virtual
trusted platform module implemented in software). Kernel 5306 and
virtualization 5660 may be components of host operating system
5380. Virtual machine 5310, which may operate in host operating
system 5380, may include its own operating system 5381 with kernel
5330 and may implement any of a number of applications 5320.
[0533] FIG. 54 is a flow diagram of process 5400 for securing a
virtual machine, such as virtual machine 5310 of FIG. 53. At step
5402, a request for a security operation may be received. The
request may be generated by a first virtual machine operating in a
host operating system of a first device. The security operation
requested at step 5402 may include any operation or operations
(such as generating a set of shares based on a data set,
encrypting, decrypting, digitally signing, authenticating, encoding
or decoding a checksum, or any other security operation) that
improve the security of data stored within the first virtual
machine, or transferred between the first virtual machine and any
device, server, user, or other virtual machine. In some
implementations, the request received at step 5402 may come from an
application running in the first virtual machine. In some
implementations, the request received at step 5402 may include a
request from the first virtual machine to secure a communication
between the first virtual machine and a second virtual machine. The
first virtual machine may be operating in the same host operating
system as the second virtual machine, or the first virtual machine
may be operating in a different operating system than the second
virtual machine. The request received at step 5406 may be received
by the first virtual machine, the host operating system, a second
virtual machine, a server, or any other computing device.
[0534] In response to receiving the request at step 5402, the
security operation is executed at a first security module
implemented in a kernel of the host operating system at step 5404.
The first security module may be loaded and unloaded into the
kernel on demand, without requiring a reboot of the host operating
system or a rebuild of the kernel. By implementing the first
security module as a kernel module, the host operating system may
provide security module functionality at the level of a the host
operating system that can be accessed by applications that operate
at the network, file system, or virtualization levels. In some
implementations, the first virtual machine and the first security
module in the kernel of the host operating system may communicate
via a pipe between the components. For example, the request of step
5402 may include a request from an application in the first virtual
machine for a security operation to be executed by the first
security module in the host operating system. In another example,
the request of step 5402 may include a request from a kernel of the
operating system of the first virtual machine for a security
operation to be executed by the first security module in the host
operating system. By performing security operations at the kernel
of the host operating system, the virtual machine computing
environment operating according to process 5400 may take advantage
of, for example, centralized management of security operations and
hardware components that are most efficiently controlled by the
host operating system. For example, in some implementations, the
first security module may call a support application or component
at step 5404, such a hardware accelerator. In some implementations,
the first security module includes a secure parser, as described
herein, or is configured to implement one or more of the functions
of a secure parser.
[0535] The request received at step 5402, and the subsequent
execution of the requested security operation at step 5404, need
not be a direct request to the first security module in the kernel
of the host operating system. In some implementations, the request
of step 5402 includes a request for a security operation to be
executed by a second security module implemented in a kernel of the
operating system of the first virtual machine. The requested
security operation may be executed by the first security module at
step 5404 when one or more programmed conditions are satisfied. In
some implementations, the step 5404 may include determining that
the second security module (in the operating system of the first
virtual machine) is unable to execute the requested security
operation. The second security module may be unable to execute the
requested operation because the second security module is busy, not
configured to perform the requested security operation, programmed
to only perform the security operation when the first security
module is unavailable, or for any other reason. For example, when
the second security module is programmed to only perform the
security operation when the first security module is unavailable,
the second security module may transmit a request to the first
security module to execute the security operation requested at step
5402; if the first security module responds affirmatively to the
request (indicating that the first security module is able to
perform the requested operation), the second security module will
not perform the requested operation.
[0536] At step 5406, the result of the requested security operation
is provided to the first virtual machine. In some implementations,
providing the result to the first virtual machine may occur when
data is transmitted to or from another device, application or
virtual machine. For example, if the first virtual machine requests
the secure transfer of data to a second virtual machine at step
5402, the result of the requested security operation may be
provided to the first virtual machine when the first security
module securely transfers the data to the second virtual
machine.
[0537] FIG. 55 is a block diagram of a secure virtual machine
computing environment 5500 that may be configured to implement
several virtual machine security techniques, such as process 5400
described above. Environment 5500 may include hardware 5502 and
operating system 5580 (including kernel 5506 and virtualization
layer 5508). Environment 5500 may also include a number of virtual
machines, such as virtual machines 5510, 5512, and 5514, helper
virtual machine 5516, and security virtual machine 5518. Each of
virtual machines 5510, 5512 and 5514 may include its own operating
system with kernels 5530, 5532 and 5534, respectively, and
applications 5520, 5522 and 5524, respectively. Helper virtual
machine 5516 may include kernel 5536 and may be configured with
services 5526 that assist with virtual machine functions, such as
creating virtual machines from a physical machine, recovering
failed virtual machines, and other virtual machine administrative
tasks. Security virtual machine 5518 may be configured to execute
security operations on behalf of other virtual machines implemented
in environment 5500, or local or remote applications.
[0538] FIG. 55 also illustrates a number of security modules which
may be implemented at different locations in environment 5500. The
number and location of the security modules of FIG. 55 is purely
illustrative, and any one or more such security modules may be used
in any of a number of different virtual machines or layers of host
operating system 5580. For example, environment 5500 includes
security module 5576 implemented in kernel 5506 of host operating
system 5580. Environment 5500 may be configured to operate
according to process 5400 of FIG. 54, discussed above, in which
security operations for any one or more of the virtual machines
5510, 5512, 5514, 5516 and 5518 may be executed by security module
5576.
[0539] Environment 5500 also illustrates a number of security
modules that may be implemented in various virtual machines.
Security module 5570 is implemented in kernel 5530 of virtual
machine 5510, and may perform security operations for applications
5520 running in virtual machine 5510 or for any other virtual
machine or application that requests a security operation. Security
modules 5576 (in kernel 5506 of host operating system 5580) and
5570 (in kernel 5530 of virtual machine 5510) may be configured to
operate as the first and second security modules, respectively,
discussed above with reference to process 5400 of FIG. 54. For
example, security operations requested by applications 5520 of
virtual machine 5510 may be transmitted to security module 5570. If
security module 5576 is available to perform the security
operation, the security module 5570 may forward the request to
security module 5576; otherwise, security module 5570 may perform
the requested operation.
[0540] Environment 5500 also illustrates security module 5572,
which is implemented as part of applications 5524 of virtual
machine 5514. In such a configuration, security module 5572 may be
called upon by a user or other application to perform security
operations. Security module 5572 may request that security module
5576 (in kernel 5506 of host operating system 5580) perform a
security operation (e.g., encrypting data, generating a plurality
of shares of data) on behalf of applications 5524. A security
module may also be implemented in a dedicated security virtual
machine, such as security module 5574 in security virtual machine
5518. Security module 5574 may provide security operations or one
or more other virtual machines, local or remote, and may also be
configured to communicate with security module 5576 of host
operating system 5580 as described above with reference to process
5400 of FIG. 54. In some implementations, other virtual machines
(such as virtual machines 5510, 5512, 5514 and 5516) may call upon
virtual machine 5518 to execute security operations for internal
virtual machine functions or inter-virtual machine functions.
[0541] The configuration of a secure virtual machine computing
environment with one or more security modules may be performed with
one or more software or hardware components provided to a computing
environment.
[0542] Although some applications of the data security techniques
are described above, it should be clearly understood that the
present invention may be integrated with any network application in
order to increase security, fault-tolerance, anonymity, or any
suitable combination of the foregoing. For example, the virtual
machine security systems and methods described herein may be used
in conjunction with an information dispersal algorithms described
herein (e.g., those performed by the secure data parser) or any
other information dispersal algorithm that generates shares of
data.
[0543] Additionally, other combinations, additions, substitutions
and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view
of the disclosure herein.
* * * * *